Just song Fic's
by Nessie Carlie Salvatore
Summary: A collection of song fic's featuring Lady Antebellum, Shinedown, Keith Urban, Nickelback, and more. None of these tie in together. They are just random.
1. Need You Now

NEED YOU NOW

_Picture perfect memories scattered all around the floor_.

Elena Gilbert was sitting on her floor, looking at all the pictures of her family and friends, before her parents died. Ones of her Bonnie, and  
Caroline at the park, in cheerleader uniforms, at partys...Ones of Jeremy before all the drugs, and Vicki...She felt so bad tonight, the  
anniversery of her parents death.

_ Reaching for the phone Cause I can't fight it any more. And I wonder if I ever cross your mind? For me it happens all the time._

Tears in her eyes, she reached for her cell phone. She need to talk to someone who understood. Someone who need the pain of loseing  
someone...Elena scrolled down her contact list and found his number. She hit the call button and waited.

'Hey, it's Damon, Leave a message...'

_It's a quater after one, I'm all alone and I need you know. Said I wouldn't call but I've lost all control and I need you now. And I don't know how I can do without...I just need you now._

"Hey, It's me. I know it's late, but I need someone now. I need to see you. Come by when you get this. Bye." Elena whispered, hanging up.  


* * *

_Another shot of whiskey, can't quit looking at the door. Wishing you'd come sweeping in the way you did before._

Damon Salvatore sat at the bar, throwing back shots. This wasn't unusual, he did this every night. Because of her. He'd look at the bar door, hopeing that Katherine had chaged her mind.  
That she'd come walking into the bar, come back to him.

_And I wonder if I ever cross your mind. For me it happens all the time._

He sits there, drowning his sorrows and wondering if she ever thought of him. If she ever regretted leaving him. If she ever really loved him. He thought of those questions everyday and had no answer. He fished his phone out of his pocket and hit her speed dial instantly.

'Hey, It's Elena, sorry I couldn't take your call leave me a message and I'll get back to you.'

_It's a quater after one, I'm a little drunk and I need you now. Said I wouldn't call but I've lost all control and I need you now. And I don't know how I can do without, I just need you now._

"It's Damon...I don't know why I'm calling you. I guess I'm a little wasted. I...I need to talk to you...I guess...Call me back, please..." He hung up, finished his drink, laid some bills on the bar, and left.

* * *

Moments later Damon was tapping on the glass of Elena Gilbert's window. She looked up with tear filled eyes and stood. She opened the window.

"What's wrong?" Damon asked sliding inside.

"It's been a year since..." Elena wrapped her arms around Damon's waist and cried into his chest.

Damon, who had never been comforted or given comfort, put his arms around her completely lost.

"Does it get better?" She asked, after the tears slowed. "Does the pain ever stop?"

"I'm not going to lie to you, No, it doesn't. But the pain is the only reminder that it was real."

"Of course it was real. My parents are dead and you're a..."

"Not that. I know they were real, as was she. The love. Your love for them, my love for her..." Elena nodded and rest against him. She yawned.

"It's late. You should sleep." Damon said, unwinding himself from her.

"Will you stay?"

Damon grabbed her desk chair in answer. He positioned it next to her bed side and hung his jacket on the back.

"Good night, Damon." She said.

"Good night, Kitten." Elena tossed a pillow at his face.

"Do not call me that!" She snapped. Damon smiled and kissed her forehead.

"Good night, Elena."

_Guess I'd rather hurt than feel nothin' at all_  
_ It's a quarter after one I'm all alone and I need you now_  
_ And I said I wouldn't call but I'm a little drunk and I need you now_  
_ And I don't know how I can do without _  
_ I just need you now_  
_ I just need you now (wait)_  
_ Ooo, baby, I need you now_

_

* * *

_**I know the ending is a little messed up and doesn't go with the song bu_t I liked it. _**_  
_


	2. Hate Me

_I have to block out thoughts of you, so I don't lose my head_  
_They crawl in like a cockroach leaving babies in my bed_  
_Dropping little reels of tape, to remind me that I'm alone_  
_Playing movies in my head that make a porno feel like home_  
_There's a burning in my pride, and a nervous bleeding in my brain_  
_An ounce of peace is all I want for you, will you never call again?_  
_And will you never say that you loved me, just to put it in my face?_  
_And will you never try to reach me, it is I that wanted space_

Damon sat in his motel room, trying to hold himself together. He'd left Mystic Falls three days ago. He had to leave, he couldn't stand it anymore. When Isobel had told his secret, he knew it was over, that he couldn't stay. Even now, if closed his eyes for the slightest second, he could see her. Her and his little brother. Having to see that, even after she knew that he loved her, really hurt his pride, deflated his ego. His phone buzzed, from beside him. He looked down and frowned.  
And now she kept pestering him with phone calls. He hit ignore, and waited.

Ding!

Damon picked up his phone and checked the voice mail.

'Damon,_ PLEASE!_' Elena was saying. 'Please come home. This is where you should be! With me, and Stefan. Please, stop ignoring me, pick up your phone! Please!'

For three days he'd ignored phone calls, text messages, e-mails, IMs, everything she'd used to try and reach him. He did this because if he picked up she'd apologize, she'd say she loved him, too.  
But she didn't. He knew that, she loved Stefan, and that's all there was to it. He simply thought of the last words he'd said to her and it made him a little better.

_Hate me today_  
_Hate me tomorrow_  
_Hate me for all the things I didn't do for you_  
_Hate me in ways, yeah ways hard to swallow_  
_Hate me so you can finally see what's good for you_

"Elena, I want you to hate me. Hate me for hurting you, your friends. Hate me for hurting Stefan, hate me for changing your birth mother. Hate me for everything I've ever done. And Elena, hate me for loving you."

**3 months later**

Damon had left Mystic Falls over three months ago. You wouldn't recognize him now. His hair was thinner, he was much, much weaker, and he was still heart broken. He'd answered one of Elena's many phone calls, only to fill her in, to tell her he was okay.

_I'm sober now for 3 whole months, it's one accomplishment that you helped me with_  
_The one thing that always tore us apart is the one thing I won't touch again_

Damon hadn't drank in months. Alcohol or human blood. Elena had changed that in him. Now, just looking at a human for food made him sick to his stomach. And animal blood wasn't hitting on much so he was only hunting when nessacery. That part he only told Stefan.

_In a sick way I want to thank you for holding my head up late at night_  
_While I was busy waging wars on myself, you were trying to stop the fight_  
_You never doubted my warped opinions on things like suicidal hate_  
_You made me compliment myself when it was way too hard to take_

He remembered nights from the past when he'd wander drunk into Elena's home and wake her. She never showed how much it bothered her but held him upright and helped him to her bed or the couch, where ever. He'd always poured his soul out at those times, he talked about how bad he was, about all te bad things he'd done, how worthey of death he really was. She wouldn't hear any of that though. She'd listen and never say anything about his views on things like racism or suicide, but made him see the good in himself, give himself complements.

_So I'll drive so fucking far away that I'll never cross your mind_  
_And do whatever it takes in your heart to leave me behind_

But those nights made him love her all the more. So, he left. He drove far, far away. To Louisiana. He'd told her to burn his pictures, to destroy anything he had left in his room But, she hadn't. Stefan said she'd put all his pictures in a photo album and hidden it in her closet, that she slept in his shirts, and in his bed, to feel like he was there. Stefan had begged him to return, to fix this, but he didn't.

_Hate me today_  
_Hate me tomorrow_  
_Hate me for all the things I didn't do for you_  
_Hate me in ways, yeah ways hard to swallow_  
_Hate me so you can finally see what's good for you_

_And with a sad heart I say bye to you and wave_  
_Kicking shadows on the street for every mistake that I had made_  
_And like a baby boy I never was a man_  
_Until I saw your brown eyes cry and I held your face in my hand_  
_And then I fell down yelling, "Make it go away," just make a smile_  
_Come back and shine just like it used to be_  
_And then she whispered, "How can you do this to me?"_

That night as Damon slept, he dreamed. He dreamed of the day he left. Of looking out the window of his car and sadly waving goodbye to his little brother, who waved back, knowing he might ever see Damon again. He dreamed of telling Elena all the bad things he'd done and seeing her cry as he held her. He'd made her smile at him one last time.

"How can you do this?" She'd whispered into his chest, hugging him tight. "How can you leave now of all times?"

_Hate me today_  
_Hate me tomorrow_  
_Hate me for all the things I didn't do for you_  
_Hate me in ways, yeah ways hard to swallow_  
_Hate me so you can finally see whats good for you._

He had had no answer.


	3. IF YOU ONLY KNEW

IF YOU ONLY KNEW-SHINEDOWN

**_If you only knew I'm hanging by a thread The web I spin for you_**  
**_If you only knew I'd sacrifice my beating Heart before I lose you_**  
**_I still hold onto the letters You returned_**  
**_I swear I've lived and learned_**

Damon Salvatore looked at his clock in his room in the Salvatore Italian estate.

3:50am shined at him in bright red numbers. He hadn't slept a wink.

He had left Mystic Falls, like he promised his brother he would. He rose from his bed and walked gracefully to his desk. Inside were thirty or more letters he'd sent to Elenna and Stefan, all had been returned unopened. He sighed and sat down, picking one up and tearing it open.

_Dear Elena_, He'd written,

_I know you must hate me for up and leaving like I did. With out a good bye or an explanation, but it had to be done. I had to get out before my feelings for you grew any farther. _  
_Had that happened, then I would be as useless as Stefan. People could use you against me, the ultimate weapon._

_I'm sorry, All my love,_

_Damon._

He looked up at the clock again.

4:03. He sighed and grabbed his phone. He scrolled down his contacts to Elena's number and hit the call button.

It rang twice, then went to voice mail, she'd ignored the call.

**_It's 4:03 and I can't sleep_**  
**_Without you next to me I_**  
**_Toss and turn like the sea_**  
**_If I drown tonight, bring me_**  
**_Back to life_**  
**_Breathe your breath in me_**  
**_The only thing that I still believe_**  
**_In is you, if you only knew_**

"Um, hey, it's me. It's four in the morning over here, so it's probably some time in the afternoon over there. I know you're pissed, but Elena I had too! I know I should have waited  
and said goodbye, and I'm sorry. Please, please, stop ignoring me! I feel horrible enough, I can't hunt, or sleep. You are the only one who ever believed in me, and need that.  
Call me back, please?"

He hung up and put his head in his hands. A few weeks later, Elena never called back. Damon still hadn't slept and barely had any blood. He was thinking of returning to Virginia, begging Elena for forgiveness.

So, that night, at 3:50, he got up and read another returned, unopened letter. It contained the same message, simply asking for Elena's forgiveness.

He called her again. She ignored him again.

_**If you only knew**_  
_**How many times I counted**_  
_**All the words that wen't wrong**_  
_**If you only knew**_  
_**How I refuse to let you go,**_  
_**Even when you're gone**_  
_**I don't regret any days I**_  
_**Spent, nights we shared,**_  
_**Or letters that I sent**_

"Elena, I want you know how sorry I truely am. I've relived every moment I spent with you over and over inside my head. I wish I could take back all the bad things I've said to you and Stefan, Undo all the bad I don't regret anything. Please, call me, or at least read one of my letters. Hell, you don't have to read it, burn it if you want but don't send it back. I have twenty or thirty here with me all ready. I'm sorry, again. Bye."

_** It's 4:03 and I can't sleep**_  
_**Without you next to me I**_  
_**Toss and turn like the sea**_  
_**If I drown tonight, bring me**_  
_**Back to life**_  
_**Breathe your breath in me**_  
_**The only thing that I still believe**_  
_**In is you, if you only knew**_

Damon was laying in bed starring at the ceiling until he decided. He was going back. He would have Elena, even if it were only as a friend.  
He got up and packed all his things. then, he walked to the desk and picked all the letters up. Then tossed into the fire place and smiled.

He called her again. This time she answered.

"Stop calling!" She said. "If I wanted to talk to you I'd-"

"I'm coming back." He said.

"What?"

_**If you only knew**_  
_**I still hold onto the letters**_  
_**You returned**_  
_**You help me live and learn**_

"I never should have left. I'm sorry, Elena."

"You...You're really coming home?" She whispered.

"Yes."

"Hurry." Was all Elena could seem to say.

_**It's 4:03 and I can't sleep**_  
_**Without you next to me I**_  
_**Toss and turn like the sea**_  
_**If I drown tonight, bring me**_  
_**Back to life**_  
_**Breathe your breath in me**_  
_**The only thing that I still believe**_  
_**In is you, believe in is you**_  
_**I still believe in you**_  
_**Oh, if you only knew**_

A day later Damon was waiting outside Elena's door.

She opened it and jumped on him, her legs wrapped around his waist. He held her there, happily. Her forehead agaist his.

He put her down and she hit him up side the head.

"Ow! Why?" He head rubbing the back of his head.

"Because you're so stupid, Damon." She hugged him again.

That night, Damon finally got some sleep.


	4. Solo

_**I'm feeling like a star, you can't stop my shine**_  
_**I'm lovin' cloud nine, my head's in the sky**_  
_**I'm solo, I'm ridin' solo**_  
_**I'm ridin' solo, I'm ridin solo, solo**_

_**Yeah, I'm feelin' good tonight**_  
_**Finally doing me and it feels so right, oh**_  
_**Time to do the things I like**_  
_**Going to the club everything's alright, oh**_

Damon looked in the mirror at his own reflection. His eyes were still a little red, but oh well. It'd been a week since he found out about Katherines betrayel. He hadn't felt like going out but tonight he felt better. And maybe going to the club and finding a few girls to fool around with and drink from would do him some good

_**No one to answer to**_  
_**No one that's gonna argue, no**_  
_**And since I got that hold off me**_  
_**I'm livin' life now that I'm free, yeah**_

He pulled on a black silk shirt and buttoned it up. He didn't have to tell anyone where he was going, what he was doing, or who he was doing it with. If Katherine didn't want him, he sure as hell wasn't going to pine over her.

_**Told me get my shit together**_  
_**Now I got my shit together, yeah**_  
_**Now I made it through the weather**_  
_**Better days are gonna get better**_

Stefan and Elena had both told him to go ot, to move on and he would. He just needed some time and now thing were going to be better, he'd be back to his evil, sarcastic self and everyone would be happy.

_**I'm so sorry that it didn't work out**_  
_**I'm movin' on**_  
_**I'm so sorry but it's over now**_  
_**The pain is gone**_

_**I'm puttin' on my shades to cover up my eyes**_  
_**I'm jumpin' in my ride, I'm headin' out tonight**_  
_**I'm solo, I'm ridin' solo**_  
_**I'm ridin' solo, I'm ridin' solo, solo**_

He grabbed his Ray-Bans and put them on to cover up his eyes and the proof he'd been heart broken. He out his jacket on and grabbed his keys.

"Going out?" Stefan asked at his door.

"Yeah. I think it's about time, don't you?"

"Yeah. Have fun." Stefan walked away and Damon glanced at his reflection again, then went to his car.

_**I'm feelin' like a star, you can't stop my shine**_  
_**I'm lovin' cloud nine, my head's in the sky**_  
_**I'm solo, I'm ridin' solo**_  
_**I'm ridin' solo, I'm ridin' solo, solo**_

When Damon pulled into the club, he felt so much better, even before he got out of the car. He got out of the car and two pretty girls smiled and waved as they enetered the club in front of him. He was alone and he was proud of it. But he wasn't leaving alone.

_**Now I'm feelin' how I should**_  
_**Never knew single could feel this good, oh**_  
_**Stop playin' misunderstood**_  
_**Back in the game, who knew I would, oh**_

_**So fly, I'mma spread my wings**_  
_**Loving myself makes me wanna sing**_  
_**Oh, oh yeah**_  
_**Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,**_

He ordered a drink first thing, alcohol made him better at everything. He could be himself here and no one cared, because they were as drunk as he was and he was extremely good looking.  
A bleach blonde landed herself on the stool next to him at the bar and ordered a Sex on The Beach.

"Hi." She said, looking at him. He smiled and they flirted a bit.

"Does your boyfriend know you flirt with random guys at the club?" He asked her.

"No boyfriend." She said as a loud song came on. "I love this song. Do you want to dance?"

"Why not?" He said standing and holding his hand out to her.

_**Told me get my shit together**_  
_**Now I got my shit together, yeah**_  
_**Now I made it through the weather**_  
_**Better days are gonna get better**_

_**I'm so sorry that it didn't work out**_  
_**I'm movin' on**_  
_**I'm so sorry but it's over now**_  
_**The pain is gone**_

He danced with the blonde and not long after a brunette and a red head joined them. He was back. He draped his arms around them and walked to the bar again.

"So which of you lovely ladies wants to accompany me home tonight?" He asked suggestivly as he ordered their dinks.

The girls giggled and he took that as an all of them. they finished the drinks and he tosed some bills on the bar, then he and the girls, left.

_**I'm puttin' on my shades to cover up my eyes**_  
_**I'm jumpin' in my ride, I'm headin' out tonight**_  
_**I'm solo, I'm ridin' solo**_  
_**I'm ridin' solo, I'm ridin' solo, solo**_

_**I'm feelin' like a star, you can't stop my shine**_  
_**I'm lovin' cloud nine, my head's in the sky**_  
_**I'm solo, I'm ridin' solo**_  
_**I'm ridin' solo, I'm ridin' solo, solo**_

He stopped the car in the boarding house garage and the girls got out. Once inside, they all stumbled aroud, trying to find he stairs in a very drunken state.

"Damon?" Stefan asked, stepping out of the kitchen.

"Stefan!" He said putting his arm around his shoulder. "You are one cool little dude, Stefan. Now, how do I get upstairs?"

_**Ridin' solo, solo, I'm ridin' solo**_  
_**Solo, solo, solo, solo**_

_**It's like S-O-L-O**_  
_**S-O-L-O**_  
_**S-O-L-O**_  
_**I'm living my life, ain't got stress no more**_

_**I'm putting on my shades to cover up my eyes**_  
_**I'm jumpin' in my ride, I'm headin' out tonight**_  
_**I'm solo, I'm ridin' solo**_  
_**I'm ridin' solo, I'm ridin' solo, solo**_

When Damon woke up the next morning there were three girls passed out and bitten all around him. He sighed as he sat up and then woke them one by one. After compeling them to forget him, and calling them a cab, he found his way into the kitchen.

"Morning." Elena's voice said from the counter. "Looks like someone had a good night."

"Come here." He said, wiggling his finger at her. She hopped off the counter and walked over to him.

**_I'm feeling like a star, you can't stop my shine_**  
**_I'm lovin' cloud nine, my head's in the sky_**  
**_I'm solo, I'm ridin' solo_**  
**_I'm ridin' solo, I'm ridin' solo, solo_**

He pulled her to him in a tight embrace.

"Thank you." He whispered in her ear.

"For what?" She asked against his skin.

"Everything."

**_I'm ridin' solo, I'm ridin' solo, solo_**  
**_I'm ridin' solo, solo_**  
**_I'm ridin' solo, solo_**


	5. I'm only me when I'm with you

_Friday night beneath the stars_  
_In a field behind your yard_  
_You and I are painting pictures in the sky_

Damon and Elena are laying out on a blanket behind her house, looking up at the stars, trying to find constilations or just making their own. Stefan was away hunting and Elena didn't want to be alone.

_And sometimes we don't say a thing_  
_Just listen to the crickets sing_  
_Everything I need is right here by my side_

Sometime things just got quiet and all the night sounds seemed inhanced. The frogs, the crikets, the lightening bugs. Then they would just laugh for no reason and go back to the stars.

_And I know everything about you_  
_I don't wanna live without you_  
_I'm only up when you're not down_  
_Don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground_  
_It's like no matter what I do_  
_Well, you drive me crazy half the time_  
_The other half I'm only trying_  
_To let you know that what I feel is true_  
_And I'm only me when I'm with you_

Sometimes Damon told Elena stories about he and Stefan's child hood, or just something about him that only she was aloud to know. Elena knew she wouldn't be ale to live without Damon in her and vise versa. It seemed when Elena was happy so was Damon, but if he was having a bad day Elena wasn't having a good one. Even if Damon drove her out of her mind with his stupid sarcasm or the eye thing he does, or that little smirk he wore constantly, it was just how he showed how much he cared for her. Elena also knew that, when they were together, they could be themselves. Damon could laugh easily and smile and show his soul.

_Just a small town boy and girl_  
_Living in the crazy world_  
_Trying to figure out what is and isn't true_  
_And I don't try to hide my tears_  
_The secrets, all my deepest fears_  
_Through it all nobody gets me like you do_

They'd both grown up and this tiny little town, though it was much smaller in 1864, she was sure. Elena was still learning that the only thing that was impossible was slamming a revolving door, and that all the myth's like witches and vampires and werewolves were all true. She could cry freely with Damon, knowing he would hold her, listen to everything and soothe her. He kept her secrets and fears hidden and told her a few in return. Like how he was only himself with her.

_And you know everything about me_  
_You say that you can't live without me_  
_I'm only up when you're not down_  
_Don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground_  
_It's like no matter what I do_  
_Well, you drive me crazy half the time_  
_The other half I'm only trying_  
_To let you know that what I feel is true_  
_And I'm only me when I'm with you_

Elena knew everything about Damon, except the big thing, of course. The thing he would never tel her. She'd told him that she couldn't live without him around annoying the hell out of her. "Same here." He'd said laughing. Elena's selfrighteous attitude and snarkey little comments really got to him, so he retaliated. He said annoying things that made her laugh, or smile, or roll her eyes. He was afraid to do it at times though. Afraid the words would slip out, or she'd see it in his eyes, or feel it in his touch. So, he'd limited it. All of it. But right now, he was going to himself with her. He'd smile and laugh.

_When I'm with anybody else_  
_It's so hard to be myself_  
_And only you can tell_

Elena had to be golden with Caroline, Bonnie, Matt, Jenna, Jeremy, and everyone else. She could lose it a bit with Stefan, but with Damon she was a complet party girl, because he liked it. He loved to see her having fun and laughing.

Damon had to be a jerk to his brother, a human to the town, but with Elena he was easy going, and laid back.

_That I'm only up when you're not down_  
_Don't wanna fly if you're still on the ground_  
_It's like no matter what I do_  
_Well, you drive me crazy half the time_  
_The other half I'm only trying_  
_To let you know that what I feel is true_

_And Im only me_  
_Who I wanna be_  
_Well, Im only me when Im with you_  
_With you, oh, yeah_

They need each other and that was the end of it, but they'd never let the other know._  
_


	6. I'd lie

_I don't think that passenger seat_  
_Has ever looked this good to me_  
_He tells me about his night_  
_And I count the colors in his eyes_

Damon was driving Elena home from a day at the boarding house, just telling her little things about his day, as she shares her. She counts the stars she see twinkleing in the ice blue deepths of his eyes.

_He'll never fall in love he swears_  
_As he runs his fingers through his hair_  
_I'm laughing 'cause I hope he's wrong_  
_And I don't think it ever crossed his mind_  
_He tells a joke I fake a smile_  
_That I know all his favorite songs and_

"I'm never going to fall in love agai." Damon whispers. 'You're the last one.' He thinks, running a hand truh his dark locks.

Elena laughs, hopeing he's lieing, she wants him to have someone to love. He says something sarcastic and she fake smiles

He turns up the radio when Paint it Black by the RollingStones comes on and he sing along.

_I could tell you his favorite color's Black_  
_He loves to argue, born on the seventeenth_  
_His brother's beautiful, he has an angels eyes_  
_And if you ask me if I love him, I'd lie_

She could tell that he only likes the color black, occationaly he'd wear a gray or white shirt. He loves to argue until he gets his way and his birthday in july seventeenth. His brother is the second most handsome man on Earth, aside from him. He has the eyes of and angel, but acts like the devil. And if you asked her if she loved him, she lie.

_He looks around the room_  
_Innocently overlooks the truth_  
_Shouldn't a light go on?_  
_Doesn't he know I've had him memorized for so long?_

He looks around the party, board out of his mind, not seeing her watching him. He meets her eyes and waves, she smiles back, and then his brother reclaims her attention. Why didn't he see how she felt?

_He sees everything black and white_  
_Never let nobody see him cry_  
_I don't let nobody see me wishing he was mine_

He sees things as they are, in black and white. He never lets anyone see him cry, if he crys at all. She just watches and never lets anyone know how much she feels for him

_I could tell you his favorite colors black_  
_He loves to argue, born on the seventeenth_  
_His brother's beautiful, he has an angels eyes_  
_And if you ask me if I love him, I'd lie_

_He stands there then walks away_  
_My God, if I could only say_  
_I'm holding every breathe for you_  
_He'd never tell you but he can play guitar_  
_I think he can see through everything but my heart_  
_First thought when I wake up is, "My god, he's beautiful"_  
_So I put on my make up and pray for a miracle_

He stands up when she enters a room and then leaves when sits down. She wants to get up and follow him, to ask him to come back. He'd never tell anyone, but he plays guitar, and the piano. He can see through any lie and look, but can't see how she feels. She dreams of him and thinks of him first thing. She gets up and dressed, wondering if he'll see today.

_Yes, I could tell you his favorite colors black_  
_He loves to argue oh and it kills me_  
_His brother's beautiful he has and angels eyes_  
_And if you asked me if I love him_  
_If you ask me if I love him, I'd lie_


	7. The Truth

Damon walked up the steps to Elena's home, slowly. He knocked, and prayed that Jenna didn't answer. The God's were with him. Elena appeared and smiled.

"Useing the door now?" She asked. She thought he'd smile or smirk or roll his eyes, but he didn't.

"Come here." He said, taking her hand. Electiric shocks ran up her arm.

"I'm leaving." Damon said, not looking at her.

"No!" She yelled. "You can't!"

"I can. I am." Damon said, standing. "Calm down. I need you to do something for me."

"What?" She whispered through tears.

"Well, only you, Stefan, and Alaric know. So people are going to ask where I am."

"What do I tell them?" Elena asked, knowing that's what he wanted.

_**Tell em all I'm on vacation,**_  
_**Say I went to visit friends,**_  
_**That you ain't heard or seen from me in quite a while,**_  
_**When they ask you where I've been,**_  
_**Tell em I'm out on the west coast where it don't ever rain,**_  
_**And that I'm probably doing fine,**_

"Say I'm on vaction, or went to vist an old friend I havn't seen in years. Say I didn't say goodbye, and that we havn't talked in a while. Or, say I moved to the West Coast because I got tired of rain.  
and you're sure I'm fine."

_**Just don't tell em I've gone crazy,**_  
_**That I'm still strung out over you,**_  
_**Tell em anything you want to,**_  
_**Just don't tell em all the truth,**_  
_**Yeah don't tell em all the truth,**_

"Just don't say I've gone crazy, that I left because of you. Tell them anything that comes to mind, but Tell them the truth."

_**Tell em all I'm out in Vegas,**_  
_**Blowin' every dollar I ever made,**_  
_**Tell em that I must be into something bad for me cause,**_  
_**I sure lost a lot of weight,**_  
_**Tell em I'm out on the road with some old rock and roll band,**_  
_**Living like a gypsy king.**_

"Say I went to Vegas, and lost all my moeny gambeling, drinking, and with women. Say I'm probably into some bad stuff because I've lost a whieght. Say I'm chaseing the dream and I'm touring with some band no one has ever heard of."

**_The truth is that I'm asking you to lie,_**  
**_And we both know that it ain't right,_**  
**_But if you ever loved me please,_**  
**_Have some mercy on me,_**  
**_Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah,_**

"So you want me to lie?" Elena asked.

"I know it's wrong. But, please, Elena if you have any room in your heart for me, please, don't tell themthe truth!"

"What's the truth Damon?" Elena said. "So, I know what not to say."

**_Tell em anything you want to,_**  
**_Just don't tell em all the truth,_**  
**_Yeah don't tell em all the truth,_**  
**_I still need you,_**  
**_Yeah that's the truth,_**  
**_I still love you,_**  
**_Baby that's the truth._**

"That I'm in love with you." Damon said quietly, looking at the ground.

"You're leaving because of me?" Elena whispered.

"NO!" Damon said, taking her hands. "No. Because of Stefan. You two...I want you, he has you. If you two ever break up, call me. If you don't, send me a wedding invitation."

Elena nodded through her tears, that Damon wiped away.

"None of that, please. I'll vist, I promise. You'll be the first one I see. And remember you have something no one else does."

"What?" Damon took her hand a placed it to his chest. She looked confused.

"You're touching it."

"Good bye. Damon."

"It's not goodbye. It's I'll see you later."

Elena smiled and Damon stood and left.


	8. I Love Your Love The Most

**Jenna and Alaric, before you start.**

* * *

"So, Alaric, tell me about your self?" Jenna asked on their first date. They'dgotten past the awkward wife thing and were ready to move on.

_**I Love Sleeping In On Saturdays**_  
_**And I Love College Football Games**_  
_**I Love Not Acting My Age**_  
_**And A Good Barbecue**_

"Well, I like to sleep in on Saturday, then watch UVA or Virginia Tech play football."

""Football, no. Sleeping, yes." Jenna smiled.

"It's working with teenagers." He said. She laughed.

"I like to have fun, act like a kid sometimes. And I love barbecue."

"Good, I like parties and make a mean barbecue, or a least, that what Jeremy says, but with him..."

_**Yeah I'm A Fan Of Faulkner Books**_  
_**And Anything My Mama Cooks**_  
_**Small Mouth Bass Have Got Me Hooked**_  
_**On Sunday Afternoon**_

"I like to read William Faulkner after a hard day and I go home to eat once or twice a month."

"Well, I'm glad you read." Jenna smiled. "Maybe you could get Jeremy to."

"He's having a hard time adjusting. I was like him when..."

"I'm so sorry about your wife."

_**Yes I Love Good Cold Beer**_  
_**And Mustard On My Fries**_  
_**I Love A Good Loud Honky Tonk**_  
_**That Rocks On Friday Night**_  
_**And Hell Yes I Love My Truck**_  
_**But I Want You To Know**_  
_**Honey I Love Your Love The Most**_

"I like a cold beer every night before bed, and only eat mustard on my french fries." Jenna looked shocked.

"Me, too!"

"I like this little honky tonk just outside of Danville, the best bands are on Fridays. I wash my truck every other week myself."

"I like partying, so clubs are good, but it sounds like you baby your truck."

"I do. But I'll baby you more." Jenna blushed and smiled, again.

_**Man I Love How Redman Taste**_  
_**And Damn I Love My Nascar Race**_  
_**Any Song Sung By George Strait**_  
_**Is Country At It's Best**_

"I like Redman every now then, and if Tony Stewart, Dale Jr., or Jimmy Johnson win the race, I'm happy."

"You like NASCAR, too? Well there goes the weekend."

"I can Tevo the game and the race if you want to go out." He smiled. "And George Straight is the real King, not Elvis.

"That, I can agree to."

**_Yes I Love Good Cold Beer_**  
**_And Mustard On My Fries_**  
**_I Love A Good Loud Honky Tonk_**  
**_That Rocks On Friday Night_**  
**_And Hell Yes I Love My Truck_**  
**_But I Want You To Know_**  
**_Honey I Love Your Love The Most_**

**_Yeah I Love Scuffed Up Cowboy Boots_**  
**_And Broke In Tore Up Jeans_**  
**_A Four Wheel Drive Eight Point Bucks_**  
**_And Rocky Road Ice Cream_**  
**_And Hell Yes I Love My Dog_**  
**_And Jack D In My Coke_**  
**_But Honey I Love Your Love_**

"I wear my old boots every where, and old jeans that have holes all in them are the best if I'm working on the house. I like driving the mud, which is why I have to wash my truck, and go hunting with my buddies twice a year."

"So, I'll be getting dirty?" Jenna asked. Ric nodded.

"I eat Rocky Road ice cream more often than I should and play with my dog everyday to work it off."

"I like the ice cream, but I have to learn to love the dog."

"What about Jack Daniels in your Coke, every now and then?"

"After a stressful day, sure. But what you love the most in world?"

Yeah I Love Your Love yea  
I Love Your Love The Most

"Hopefully, I'll love your love the most."


	9. you're not sorry

_**All this time I was wasting**_  
_**Hoping you would come around**_  
_**I've been giving out chances every time**_  
_**And all you do is let me down**_  
_**And it's taking me this long**_  
_**Baby but I figured you out**_  
_**And you're thinking we'll be fine again**_  
_**But not this time around**_

Every time she and Stefan had fought, or something had happened, Damon had been there for her. He'd bared his soul to her in hopes that she'd take it and be his. But she never had.  
He finally realized, that she never would. That she'd get him to help Stefan or herself, then put him side, calling on him again, only when she need him. Then, when he brought that fact up she'd beg for forgiveness, but this time, he was was leaving.

_**You don't have to call anymore**_  
_**I won't pick up the phone**_  
_**This is the last straw**_  
_**Don't wanna hurt anymore**_  
_**And you can say that you're sorry**_  
_**But I don't believe you baby**_  
_**Like I did before**_  
_**You're not sorry, no, no, no, no**_

He'd ignored every call from her. He'd told her not to call, because he wouldn't answer. He was tired of the pain he had to face, seeing her with his brother. She'd said she was sorry though her tears as he'd turned to leave, and he'd told that he didn't believe she wasn't.

_**Looking so innocent**_  
_**I might believe you if I didn't know**_  
_**Could've loved you all my life**_  
_**If you hadn't left me waiting in the cold**_  
_**And you got your share of secrets**_  
_**And I'm tired of being last to know**_  
_**And now you're asking me to listen**_  
_**Cause it's worked each time before**_

But, when he'd said that, he'd looked back. She'd looked so lost, standing in the pouring rain, begging him to stay, to forgive her. If it hadn't happened before, he'd of forgiven her and taken her inside and made her hot chocolate, or something, to warm her. But he did know. He also knew that he would have loved her forever, that he would love her forever. She'd asked him to listen to her side, but he didn't.

_**But you don't have to call anymore**_  
_**I won't pick up the phone**_  
_**This is the last straw**_  
_**Don't wanna hurt anymore**_  
_**And you can tell me that you're sorry**_  
_**But I don't believe you baby**_  
_**Like I did before**_  
_**You're not sorry, no, no, oh**_  
_**You're not sorry, no, no, oh**_

_**You had me falling for you honey**_  
_**And it never would've gone away, no**_  
_**You used to shine so bright**_  
_**But I watched all of it fade**_

Elena had watched Damon fall head over heels for her and Damon had watched her out shine the sun, moon and stars. But shine began to fade when she'd let him fall and staied at St. Stefan's side.

_**So you don't have to call anymore**_  
_**I won't pick up the phone**_  
_**This is the last straw**_  
_**There's nothing left to beg for**_  
_**And you can tell me that you're sorry**_  
_**But I don't believe you baby**_  
_**Like I did before**_  
_**You're not sorry, no, no, oh**_  
_**You're not sorry, no, no, oh**_  
_**No, oh, no, oh, no oh**_  
_**Whoa, no, no**_

And now, bag in the back of the car, Damon was watching that pitiful exuse of a town fade away, along with any chance oif happiness.


	10. smile

**_You're better then the best_**  
**_I'm lucky just to linger in your light_**  
**_Cooler than the flip side_**  
**_Of my pillow, that's right_**

To Damon, Elena was the greatest peron on the Earth. She liked him, for him. He didn't have to compel her to like him. He felt lucky to be able to be near her at all.

_**Completely unaware**_  
_**Nothing can compare to where**_  
_**You send me, lets me know that it's okay**_  
_**Yeah, it's okay**_  
_**And the moments where my good times start to fade**_

She wasn't aware of how beautiful she was, how much he loved her. She sent him to this place, where nothing was impossible, he could be a good person in that place. And when he was having a hard time:

_**You make me smile like the sun**_

She made him smile and laugh.

_**fall out of bed**_

Once when she was staying wuth Stefan, she'd called him down for breakfast and he'd litterally fallen out of his bed and hit his head on the side table.

**_Sing like bird, dizzy in my head_**

More than once, Stefan had caught him singing an old song while he walking around or in the shower.

**_Spin like a record, crazy on a Sunday night_**  
**_You make me dance like a fool_**

He'd danced like an idiot for her at the Miss Mystic competion.

_**forget how to breathe**_

On one or two occations when she was dressed up, his throat had closed up and his heart beat sped.

_**Shine like gold**_

He did whatever he could to be good for her. He'd stopped feeding off humans and went to blood bags. He hadn't had any random hook ups in a while, either.

_**buzz like a bee**_  
_**Just the thought of you can drive me wild**_  
_**Oh, you make me smile**_

_**Even when you're gone,**_  
_**Somehow you come along just like**_  
_**A flower pokin' through the sidewalk crack**_  
_**And just like that**_  
_**You steal away the rain, and just like that**_

Even when Elena wasn't with him, he'd see little things that reminded him of her and he'd smile and have a better day.

_**You make me smile like the sun, fall out of bed**_  
_**Sing like bird, dizzy in my head**_  
_**Spin like a record, crazy on a Sunday night**_  
_**You make me dance like a fool, forget how to breathe**_  
_**Shine like gold, buzz like a bee**_  
_**Just the thought of you can drive me wild**_  
_**Oh, you make me smile**_

_**Don't know how I lived without you**_  
_**'Cause every time that I get around you**_  
_**I see the best of me inside your eyes**_  
_**You make me smile**_

Without Elena he'd still be broken hearted and crippled by his love for Katherine, he'd be damned to the deepest pit of hell for killing so many people. But when he looked into those deep chocolate brown eyes, and see the best part of him, and it took all his strength not to lean down and capture her lips.  
Instead, he smiled, and sometimes when he felt bold enough, he'd even hug her.

**_You make me dance like a fool, forget how to breathe_**  
**_Shine like gold, buzz like a bee_**  
**_Just the thought of you can drive me wild_**

**_You make me smile like the sun, fall out of bed_**  
**_Sing like bird, dizzy in my head_**  
**_Spin like a record, crazy on a Sunday night_**  
**_You make me dance like a fool, forget how to breathe_**  
**_Shine like gold, buzz like a bee_**  
**_Just the thought of you can drive me wild_**

**_Oh, you make me smile_**

"Elena?" Damon said coming in through her window around midnight.

"Damon, what the hell?" She said, sitting up and turning on her lamp.

"I need to talk to you."

"Can't it wait?"

"Yes, but you're awake now." She rolled her eyes and made room on the bed.

"You make me smile." He said, sitting down. "No one else can. So, you know you're speacil. You got me to dance, and I sing. Hell, I fell out of bed once."

"So?"

"So, You're specail. Always remeber that." She rolled her eyes and laid her head on his chest.

"Did you ever think of becoming a pillow? You're comfy." She said, before falling asleep.

"I love you." He whispers, into her hair before flipping off her light and falling asleep, too.


	11. 2 AM

_**Snow falls on the city**_  
_**White on white**_  
_**It's the color of hope**_  
_**On an unforgiving night**_  
_**You kissed me into ruins**_  
_**Sin on sin**_  
_**Now, I've gotta love your love letters**_  
_**Written on my skin**_

Damon watched as snow fell on the streets of Mystic Falls. He hated the holidays more than anyone the world because he no one to spend them with. Katherine had made him this way with her kisses and fake promises. All he had left of her were memories and letters.

_**I can't tell the stars**_  
_**From the downtown lights**_  
_**If I said I was truly over you**_  
_**My heart would say amen**_  
_**But I give in to the cold caress of 2 AM**_  
_**If I admit I can't get use to this**_  
_**Will my heart break again?**_  
_**As I fall**_  
_**Into the waiting arms of 2 AM**_

The Christmas lights were too bright to see any stars. Stefan and Elena were out enjoying them. They'd invited him, but he'd refused. Now, at two in the morning they hadn't yet came in. He was sitting on the back porch, thinking about Katherine, as he always did.  
If he could say he was over, just say it, it would help a little. But instead, he was letting snow fall on him. He could just try spending time with his brother and his few friends, maybe he could find someone. But he didn't, he was affraid if he opened up and loved again, his heart would only get broken.

_**Someone's scratchy music through the walls**_  
_**Sirens weaving through the streets**_  
_**I must've missed your call**_  
_**I'm gathering up these nights**_  
_**Black on black**_  
_**I know your voice like it's my own**_  
_**And it makes my heart go slack**_

He could here the neighbor's cheerful Chistmas music through their walls. He could hear sirens blareinggoing to catch a drunk ruining a Christmas display at the mall. He'd pulled his phone out to see when Elena and Stefan were coming home. He looked down at her picture, saying that he had a new voicemail. Elena was sharing the screen with him, they wearing their favorite sunglasses and making a silly facesHe smiled and listened to the voicemail.

"Damon! There's a drunk guy running naked through the Nativty scene at the mall. We got it filmed and we'll show you when we get home. I wish you would have came, it isn't fair that you have to be alone on the holidays. You're coming tomorrow if Me, Stefan, and Alaric have to drag you kicking and screaming! Oh, I gotta go! Love you! Bye.'

_**I can't tell the stars**_  
_**From the downtown lights**_  
_**If I said I was truly over you**_  
_**My heart would say amen**_  
_**But I give in to the cold caress of 2 AM**_  
_**If I admit I can't get use to this**_  
_**Will my heart break again?**_  
_**As I fall**_  
_**Into the waiting arms of 2 AM**_

Damon smiled and texted Elena telling her he'd go out tomorrow if she promised to ignore Stefan and give him all her attention.

She promised.

_**Oh**_  
_**If I said I was truly over you**_  
_**My heart would say amen**_  
_**But I give in to the cold caress of 2 AM**_  
_**If I admit I can't get use to this**_  
_**Will my heart break again?**_  
_**As I fall**_  
_**Into the waiting arms of 2 AM**_

He walked back into the house, took a hot shower and waited for Stefan and Elena to come in. When they did Elena hugged him.

"Here." She said, giving him a bag. "We got you a cookie."

"A cookie? Thank you. Now how about that video?"

She smiled and nodded. They spent the rest of the night, talking and laughing and not once did he think of Katherine.


	12. Better Than Drugs

_**Feel every heartbeat**_  
_**Feel all these empty nights**_  
_**Calm the ache, stop the shakes**_  
_**You clear my mind**_

Anna had came though Jeremy's window and was laying in bed with him. They could feel eachothers heart beats. With Anna, Jeremy felt better. He didn't feel empty from loseing his parents or Vicki, he felt whole, happy.

_**You're my escape**_  
_**From this messed up place**_  
_**'Cause you let me forget**_  
_**You numb my pain**_

They were each others escape from the world. He made her forget her mother being taken away from her.

_**How can I tell you just all that you are**_  
_**What you do to me**_

_**You're better than drugs**_  
_**Your love is like wine**_  
_**Feel you comin' on so fast**_  
_**Feel you comin' to get me high**_  
_**You're better than drugs**_  
_**Addicted for life**_  
_**Feel you comin' on so fast**_  
_**Feel you comin' on to get me high**_

Once Anna had entered his life, Jeremy didn't look to drugs for an escape, he looked to her. He was addicted to her warmth, her smile, everything about her.

Feel you when I'm restless  
Feel you when I cannot cope  
You're my addiction, my prescription  
My antidote

When he was upset or scarred or unable to sit still, he called her and everything was better.

You kill the poison  
Ease the suffering  
Calm the rage when I'm afraid  
To feel again

He stopped Anna's pain and rage at the Salvatore's for causeing her to lose her mother. She was happy now.

How can I tell you just all that you are  
What you do to me

_**You're better than drugs**_  
_**Your love is like wine**_  
_**Feel you comin' on so fast**_  
_**Feel you comin' to get me high**_

_**You're better than drugs**_  
_**Addicted for life**_  
_**Feel you comin' on so fast**_  
_**Feel you comin' on to get me high**_

_**How can I tell you just all that you are**_  
_**What you do to me**_

_**Feel your every heartbeat**_  
_**Feel you on these empty nights**_  
_**You're the strength of my life**_

"Jeremy?" She whispered, sitting up.

"What?"

"I love you."

"I love you, too." He whispered, giving her a kiss.

_**You're better than drugs**_  
_**Your love is like wine**_  
_**Feel you comin' on so fast**_  
_**Feel you comin' to get me high**_  
_**You're better than drugs**_  
_**Addicted for life**_  
_**Feel you comin' on so fast**_  
_**Feel you comin' on to get me high**_

"Never thought I could feel happy again." He said. "The drugs helped, but..."

"I know."

_**Feel your every heartbeat**_  
_**Feel you on these empty nights**_  
_**Feel you comin' on so fast**_  
_**Feel you comin' to get me high**_

_**Feel your every heartbeat**_  
_**So you come to get me high**_  
_**Feel you comin' on so fast**_  
_**Feel you comin' on to get me high**_  
_**To get me high**_

The couple held each other all night and fell asleep smiling.


	13. She Will Be Loved

**HI! Okay, so I want some song suggestions. Think about all the TVD characters and send me some ideas, please! **

* * *

_**Beauty queen of only eighteen**_  
_**She had some trouble with herself**_  
_**He was always there to help her**_  
_**She always belonged to someone else**_

Elena had always been the most beautiful girl in Mystic Falls. All the troulble started when she'd met the Salvatore's. Damon had helped her with anything she'd asked for, but she'd always been Stefan's.

_**I drove for miles and miles**_  
_**And wound up at your door**_  
_**I've had you so many times**_  
_**But somehow I want more**_

Even when he'd tried to leave, he'd always end up at Elena's house, just watching her. Knowing he'd never get her hadn't stopped him. He loved her, and he always would.

_**I don't mind spending every day**_  
_**Out on your corner in the pouring rain**_  
_**Look for the girl with the broken smile**_  
_**Ask her if she wants to stay awhile**_  
_**And she will be loved**_  
_**And she will be loved**_

Damon had sat on her front steps in pouring rain, waiting on her to come outside. He'd gotten soaked to the skin, only to find she'd avoided him by useing the back door. But he didn't mind. He came back everyday, just wanting to see her. T o love her.

_**Tap on my window knock on my door**_  
_**I want to make you feel beautiful**_  
_**I know I tend to get so insecure**_  
_**It doesn't matter anymore**_

He'd tap on her window every night, knock on her door during the day. When she'd let him in he'd talk to her, make her laugh. But when she didn't he felt bad. Like he wouldn't be good again.  
Then she'd let him in again and it was better.

_**It's not always rainbows and butterflies**_  
_**It's compromise that moves us along, yeah**_  
_**My heart is full and my door's always open**_  
_**You come anytime you want**_

"Elena," He'd said one night, playing with her hair.

"What?" She asked.

"If you ever need me, my door is always open to you. Whenever."

"Thank you. Mine is too."

_**I don't mind spending every day**_  
_**Out on your corner in the pouring rain**_  
_**Look for the girl with the broken smile**_  
_**Ask her if she wants to stay awhile**_

_**And she will be loved**_  
_**And she will be loved**_  
_**And she will be loved**_  
_**And she will be loved**_

_**I know where you hide alone in your car**_  
_**Know all of the things that make you who you are**_  
_**I know that goodbye means nothing at all**_  
_**Comes back and begs me to catch her every time she falls, yeah**_

More than once, when she'd fought with Stefan or had had a bad day, Damon would fine Elena parked near the cemetry, crying. He'd get in and hold her until she was ready and drive her home, it was at one of these times he'd kissed her. She knew that sarcasm, drinking, and sex, are what made Damon the man he was. They both knew that he could try to leave as ever many time as he wanted, he'd always come back

_**Tap on my window knock on my door**_  
_**I want to make you feel beautiful**_

"Damon?" Elena asked at his bedroom door. He was laid out, reading an old book she'd never heard of.

"Hello, Kitten. What can I do for you?"

"Don't call me Kitten."

"Princess?" She smiled and came in.

"So..." She said tracing the pattern of his bedspread. "Stefan and I broke up."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He wouldn't give up the blood."

"Oh." Damon said, knowing there went his chance.

"It's not even the blood I minded really. It was him trying to bite me!"

"He tried to bite you?" Damon asked slamming his book shut.

"Don't bother. He's gone."

_**I don't mind spending every day**_  
_**Out on your corner in the pouring rain**_  
_**Look for the girl with the broken smile**_  
_**Ask her if she wants to stay awhile**_

"Gone?"

"He left." She shrugged, tears filling her eyes.

"It's okay." He said, pulling her to his chest. "You're the most beautiful girl in town, you'll have a new boyfriend before you know it."

"I don't want a new boyfriend!" She cried. Damon stopped stroking her hair, and pushed her back.

"Okay." He said, getting up and pouring a drink.

"I want you." She said. He turned.

"What? A one night stand?"

"No. Always."

_**And she will be loved**_  
_**And she will be loved**_  
_**And she will be loved**_  
_**(Please don't try so hard to say goodbye)**_  
_**And she will be loved**_

"So you want me always, but not a boyfriend? How does that work?"

"Boyfriends keep secrets, lie and hurt. You won't do any of that to me."

"So," He walked back over to her. "What are we, then?"

_**Please don't try so hard to say goodbye**_  
_**Please don't try so hard to say goodbye**_  
_**(I don't mind spending every day)**_  
_**(Out on your corner in the pouring rain)**_  
_**Please don't try so hard to say goodbye**_

She kissed him and sighed.

"I don't know. But were together."

"Forever." He promised.


	14. Everybodys Fool

_**Perfect by nature**_  
_**Icons of self indulgence**_  
_**Just what we all need**_  
_**More lies about a world that**_

Stefan, who had been Mr. Perfect By Nature animal drinker, was now indulging himself in his brother blood stash. He didn't tell Elena, he lied and he had it under control, that he was fine. She was trusting and loving and Stefan didn't deserve her.

_**Never was and never will be**_  
_**Have you no shame? Don't you see me?**_  
_**You know you've got everybody fooled**_

Damon knew Stefan wasn't perfect and he never was. He'd didn't feel bad about lieing, he was on a blood high. Some how he had every one fooled.

Damon had told Elena everything! That Stefan was still on the blood, that he had lied. Stefan walked in

_**Look here he comes now**_  
_**Bow down and stare in wonder**_  
_**Oh how we love you**_  
_**No flaws when you're pretending**_

"And here he is now! King Stefan! Let us bow and grovel at his feet." He whispered in ear as Stefan started toward them.

_**But now I know he**_  
_**Never was and never will be**_  
_**You don't know how you've betrayed me**_  
_**And somehow you've got everybody fooled**_

Elena confronted him right there, making sure she had Damon as back up.

"How could you lie to me?" She asked. "How could you betray my trust like this?"

"You told here?" He growled at Damon.

"Some one had to!" Elena snapped

_**Without the mask**_  
_**Where will you hide?**_  
_**I can't find yourself**_  
_**Lost in your lie**_

"You can't hide forever Stefan." Damon said.

_**I know the truth now**_  
_**I know who you are**_  
_**And I don't love you anymore**_

"And now that I know the truth," Elena said, "I'm done." She walked away and Stefan looked at Damon

_**It never was and never will be**_  
_**You don't know how you've betrayed me**_  
_**And somehow you've got everybody fooled**_

"You couldn't keep your mouth shut, could you? You took something good and you ruined it! Just like you always do!"

"I was protecting her." Damon said. "And now, I'm going to be her shoulder to cry on."

_**It never was and never will be**_  
_**You're not real and you can't save me**_  
_**And somehow now you're everybody's fool**_


	15. Nobody Drinks Alone

_**You brought that bottle home in a paper sack**_  
_**Drew the blinds and locked the doors**_  
_**And there's nothing but empty there inside that glass**_  
_**So you pour a little more**_  
_**And there's no one there to judge you**_  
_**At least that's what you tell yourself, but**_

Damon brought home more alcohol, knowing Stefan was out. He didn't want his brother to see him this way. He locked all the doors and drew all the curtains, shilding himself in complet darkness. He poured his first glass and drank it. He looked into his empty glass and just poured more He tells himself that no ones there to judge him and takes seat in front of the fireplace. But he knows that no one drinks alone.

_**Don't you know**_  
_**Nobody drinks alone**_  
_**Every demon, every ghost**_  
_**From your past**_  
_**And every memory you've held back**_  
_**Follows you home**_  
_**Nobody drinks alone**_

He knew that every drink he poured all his demons appered around him, apperitions of his parents, a younger him and a younger Stefan, all his friends, all memories of his childhood and teenage years, they circled him. Some begged him to stop, to throw the bottle into the fire, others encoraged him.

_**You remember whiskey on your daddy's breath**_  
_**So you always stick to wine**_  
_**And you scared your little brother half to death**_  
_**You just kept it all inside**_  
_**You can hear your mama cryin'**_  
_**Only now she cries for you, and**_

His Father always drank when he'd beat him. He drank whiskey, Damon drank scotch. The first time he came home drunk he'd stumbled around and swore and broke things. Stefan was scared of that Damon, he always had been. Before Stefan had been born, their mother would cry and pray for his fathers alcoholism to stop. But now her ghost was crying for her son.

_**Don't you know**_  
_**Nobody drinks alone**_  
_**Every demon, every ghost**_  
_**From your past**_  
_**And every memory you've held back**_  
_**Follows you home**_  
_**Nobody drinks alone**_

_**Though you're lonely**_  
_**Hey don't you let that feelin' fool ya**_

He was always alone any other time. His mother had left him, Katherine had left him, anything that mattered to him, had abandned him. And now, he had to sit and watch the girl he loved in his brothers arm, again. So there was a new demon right next to him, asking him put the bottle down. Elena.

_**Don't you know**_  
_**Nobody drinks alone**_  
_**Every demon, every ghost**_  
_**From your past**_  
_**And every memory you've held back**_  
_**Follows you home**_  
_**Nobody drinks alone**_

Around midnight, and his seventh glass, they all disappeared. And he was alone with himself again.

_**Nobody drinks alone**_


	16. I'll live to love

_**Lord I fell for her smile**_  
_**And she loved me for a while**_  
_**Then she said good-bye gotta go**_  
_**Left me standing on the side of the road**_  
_**Now she's gone and I'm a memory in her past**_  
_**And the long and short of it some things never last**_

Damon had fell for Katherine Pierce the first time she'd smiled at him. Those dark eyes that saw to his soul, the body that he had to share with his brother. But she had loved him. But the day she was taken from him they'd been on a walk and she'd left him to go see Stefan. He'd been left standing the road side until he saw the sheriff and John Gilbert coming. He knew something had happened then.. But as it turned out it didn't really happen. Katherine had not bee in the tomb. So, he was just a past fling to her.

_**Oh because summers come, summers go**_  
_**I'll keep walking down this road**_  
_**It's alright and it's okay**_  
_**I'll live to love another day**_  
_**I'll live to love another day**_

But, he was okay with that. She'd killed him, but Elena had brought him back to life. He'd changed for her, he'd given up feeding from the source and he hadn't had sex in...God too long. But he'd wait for her, how ever long it took.

_**Lord I'm out here again**_  
_**With my back to the wind**_  
_**The warm sun that's sinking low**_  
_**Is gonna leave me out in the cold**_  
_**But the long and short of it some things never last**_  
_**And if that goes for the good**_  
_**It must go for the bad**_

Elena was with Stefan, which put Damon on the side lines again. But they wouldn't last forever. There was to much baggage on both their sides. He'd let all of his baggage go. All he left was Katherine.

_**Oh because summers come, summers go**_  
_**I'll keep walking down this road**_  
_**It's alright and it's okay**_  
_**I'll live to love another day**_  
_**I'll live to love another day**_

_**If I fall down**_  
_**I'm not ashamed**_  
_**I always get back up again**_  
_**But I'll be fine 'till the right one comes to save me, save me, save me**_

Damon had fallen for womens looks, for blood. Each time picked himself, unashamed and dusted himself off. But when he learned what Katherine had done, he couldn't pick himself up. Elena had.

_**Lord I fell for her smile**_  
_**And she loved me for a while**_  
_**And someday she's gonna wish**_  
_**She hadn't left me here like this**_

But one day, Katherine would come crwaling back to him, begging him to take her back. He'd say no. He'd leave her standing in the dust. He'd have Elena.

_**Oh because summers come, summers go**_  
_**I'll keep walking down this road**_  
_**It's alright and it's okay**_  
_**I'll live to love another day**_  
_**I'll live to love another day**_

_**I'll live to love another day**_  
_**I'll live to love another day**_  
_**I'll live to love another day**_


	17. Cowboy Casanova

Amy saw him as soon as he entered the bar. The singer had had a one night with Damon Salvatore a few months ago and she hadn't seen him since. And now he was hitting on a pretty little red head on the other side of the bar. She got up and the band waited to see what she was doing. But she didn't go to the stage, she went to the source.

_**You better take it from me**_  
_**That boy is like a disease**_  
_**You run and you try and you're tryin' to hide**_  
_**And you're wondering why you can't get free**_

"Excuse me." She said to Damon. He glanced at her and told the red head he'd be back.

"What's your name, sweetie?" I asked sitting down.

"Erin." She said, mad I'd chased her man away.

"Well, Erin, You should take my advice. That boy, he's no good! He'll only hurt you."

_**He's like a curse, he's like a drug**_  
_**You'll get addicted to his love**_  
_**You wanna get out, but he's holdin' you down**_  
_**'Cause you can't live without one more touch**_

"He's like a drug, you'll only want more the closer you get, then when you decide you don't want anymore, you won't be able to get out."

_**He's a, a good time, cowboy Casanova**_  
_**Leaning up against the record machine**_  
_**He looks like a cool drink of water**_  
_**But he's candy-coated misery**_  
_**He's the devil in disguise, a snake with blue eyes**_  
_**And he only comes out at night**_  
_**Gives you feelings that you don't want to fight**_  
_**You better run for your life**_

"He's great in bed, I'll give him that, but he only does one nighters. He may look like a nice cold glass of water, buts only misery in a pretty package. He's the spawn of Satan, a blue eyed devil, and he never comes out during the day. He give you feeling you don't want to fight. You better get out now."

_**I see that look on your face**_  
_**You ain't hearing what I say**_  
_**So I'll say it again, 'cause I been where you been**_  
_**And I know how it ends, you can't get away**_

Erin was still glancing at him, leaning against the record machine. She gave him those puppy dog eyes.

"Erin!" I said. "You're not hearing me! I've been where you are! He says he's going to take you places, that he'll buy you things. but he's lieing!"

_**Don't even look in his eyes**_  
_**He'll tell you nothing but lies**_  
_**And you wanna believe but you won't be deceived**_  
_**If you listen to me and take my advice**_

"If you look into those eye, you get lost in them! And you won't be able to get out! But, if you don't want to listen, fine!"

_**He's a, a good time, cowboy Casanova**_  
_**Leaning up against the record machine**_  
_**He looks like a cool drink of water**_  
_**But he's candy-coated misery**_  
_**He's the devil in disguise, a snake with blue eyes**_  
_**And he only comes out at night**_  
_**Gives you feelings that you don't want to fight**_  
_**You better run for your life**_

_**Run run away, don't let him mess with your mind**_  
_**He'll tell you anything you wanna hear**_  
_**He'll break your heart, it's just a matter of time**_  
_**But just remember**_

"I'm telling you, run now! Don't let him fool you! He'll only break your heart"

_**He's a, a good time, cowboy Casanova**_  
_**Leaning up against the record machine**_  
_**He looks like a cool drink of water**_  
_**But he's candy-coated misery**_  
_**He's the devil in disguise, a snake with blue eyes**_  
_**And he only comes out at night**_  
_**Gives you feelings that you don't want to fight**_  
_**You better run for your life**_

Erin looked at me and at him. Then she rose and strode out of the bar, leaving Damon leaning against the record machine, glaring at me.

Then, he followed suit, leaving the bar.

_**Oh, you better run for your life**_  
_**Oh, you better run for your life**_


	18. Broken

Damon Salvatore sat at his desk ,looking at a blank piece of stationary. The war had ended today. He and his brothers old lover, Katherine Pierce, had attacked Mystic Falls, vengful that both brothers had fallen in love with her doppelganger. In the end, Damon had killed her. Now, he was leaving Stefan and Elena in paece, left to wander the world alone until it became to much for him.  
But he couldn't find a way to say good bye. Things had been too awkward between the two of them since Katherine had revaeled just how deep his love for Elena ran. Deep enough to kill his first love. Damon sighed started to write.

_**I wanted you to know I love the way you laugh**_  
_**I wanna hold you high and steal your pain away**_  
_**I keep your photograph and I know it serves me well**_  
_**I wanna hold you high and steal your pain**_

_'My Dear Elena,_

_The fight was won and we all lived through it. No one else should bother you, so I'm worried. I'm leaving. I wanted you to know somethings before I left, though. I'm leaving my heart in this letter and if you ever wish to posses it, you will find away. I'm never far._  
_I am going to miss your laugh and your smile the most, as well as your company. I wish I could be the one to make oyu feel like the queen of the world, instead of Stefan, but you have chosen him. I want to steal all the pain and suffering from you and transfer it to myself. I'd rather feel all the pain in the world than for you to feel any._  
_I'll take every picture that we took together and remeber all the good things, and block the bad out._

_All my love, heart and soul, forever yours,_

_Damon.'_

_**'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome**_  
_**And I don't feel right when you're gone away**_  
_**You've gone away, you don't feel me, anymore**_

_**The worst is over now and we can breathe again**_  
_**I wanna hold you high, you steal my pain away**_  
_**There's so much left to learn, and no one left to fight**_  
_**I wanna hold you high and steal your pain**_

Elena stepped out of her shower feeling like she could breathe for the first time in a long time. She felt horrible for Damon, though. He'd had to kill the woman he loved, to save her. She had so much more about Stefan's world to learn about, and there was no one else to worry about. She and Stefan could be together and her and Damon 's friendship could stronger. She put her pajamas on and walked pulled her hair back. when she walked into her bedroom, something felt wrong. She didn't know what until she looked around. Damon was usually lounging on her bed or going through her drawers or hiding in the shadows. Instead, lieing on her bed, was an envelope with her name, written in Damon's elegant script. She picked it up and opened it. As she read the words, tears fell onto the paper an burred his writing.

_**'Cause I'm broken when I'm open**_  
_**And I don't feel like I am strong enough**_  
_**'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome**_  
_**And I don't feel right when you're gone away**_

Elena felt like her heart had been ripped open and she felt weaker than she ever had, her best friend was gone because she chose his brother. She felt alone everyday after that, she had Stefan and all her friends, but with Damon she could be the real Elena, the one no one could bring out.

Damon came back once in a while and she would cling to him like it would kill her o let go. And when he left, she'd go with him to the airport, he'd kiss her goodbye, and he'd leave. He call in once a month and they talked for hours. He sent her a letter every two months and tell her to tell Stefan to have any reply's sent to the Italian Estate, where he returned most of the time..

_**'Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome**_  
_**And I don't feel right when you're gone away**_  
_**You've gone away**_  
_**You don't feel me here anymore**_

Damon came home for the wedding, too. Elena had asked him to walk her down the isle and he'd agreed. He walked with her, lifted her veil and gave her away. She'd a gave him a peck on the lips and an 'I love you.', then he placed her hand in Stefan's.


	19. The Hard Way

Elena did the only thing she could do after what Isobel said. She called Damon. This was between her and it was going to be a long, hard night. And, she knew, that they wouldn't be the same anymore.

"I already know why I'm here." Damon said from the darkest corner, causing Elena to jump.

"I want to right here." She said pointing to the bed.

"I want you right there, too. But, I don't think I can. Not while your dating St. Stefan." Elena rolled her eyes and pionted again.

"Sit." He obyed like a trained puppy.

"You said you knew why you were here, so I'm going to skip that part." She took a deep breath and looked into his eyes.

"Swear to be honest." She whispered.

"I swear." He whispered back, like he'd been compelled

"Is it true?" His eyes looked strangely pained, and he looked away.

_**You've got your own way of looking at it baby**_  
_**I guess that proves that I got mine**_  
_**Seems like our hearts are set on automatic**_  
_**We say the first thing that comes to mind**_  
_**It's just who we are baby, we've come too far to start over now**_  
_**I know what you're thinkin' ; I'm not always easy to be around**_

"We've got our own ways at looking at our...relationship. We can talk to each other, and we're in to deep to rty to start over. And I know it will be more difficult for us now." He answered.

_**But I do love you**_  
_**You keep me believin' that you love me too**_  
_**And I know it's true**_  
_**This love drives us crazy but nobody's walkin' away**_  
_**So, I guess we'll to do it the hard way**_

"Yes. Elena, I love you. And I believe that somewhere in your heart, you love me, too. And this is driving us both insane, because you don't want to be Katherine and I hate seeing you with him. But neither of us is walking away from each other. So I guess it has to be done the hard way."

She was about asked, through the tear, what the hard way was, but Damon had already stood and walked to the window.

_**If I had a genie in a bottle**_  
_**Three wishes I could wish for us**_  
_**I wish we'd live forever and get along together**_  
_**Turn these tempers into trust**_

"If I had three wishes, Elena. I'd wish that you would let me turn you so that we could be together forever, and that we could get along and not fight every ten minutes, and that you trusted me to be faithful to you." He whispered. Elena stood and walked over to him.

_**But I do love you**_  
_**You keep me believin' that you love me too**_  
_**And I know it's true**_  
_**This love drives us crazy but nobody's walkin' away**_  
_**So, I guess we'll to do it the hard way**_

"So, you have a choice." Damon whispered. "Between my brother and I. But," He said, putting a hand on either side of her face, knowing she was about to freak out.. "But, even if you don't chosse me, I'll stay around. And I'll always be on your side. No matter what."

She smiled through her tears and hugged him. He hugged her back and kissed her forehead.

_**Do it the hard way**_

_**It's just who we are baby, we've come to far to start over now**_  
_**Believe me tonight love's the one thing in life we can't live withou**_t

"Damon," She whispered, "You know I love you. But, I want to be with Stefan. I'm sorry, but-" He finger to her lips

"Shh..." He removed his finger and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

"It's okay. I knew you would." He whispered. "I'm not going to leave because you chose him. Everyone chooses him. And I want you to be friend, Elena, I want you to call me and vent after a fight with Stefan, I want you to call me any time, even during thunder storms." She hit his chest.

"Shut-up!"

_**But I do love you**_  
_**You keep me believin' that you love me too**_  
_**And I know it's true**_  
_**This love drives us crazy but nobody's walkin' away**_  
_**So, I guess we'll to do it the hard way**_

Damon left a little while later, when Elena was sound asleep and in her bed.

_**Do it the hard way**_  
_**The hard way**_


	20. Tonight I wanna cry

_**Alone in this house again tonight**_  
_**I got the TV on, the sound turned down and a bottle of wine**_  
_**There's pictures of you and I on the walls around me**_  
_**The way that it was and could have been surrounds me**_  
_**I'll never get over you walkin' away**_

Damon sat aloe in the Salvatore parlor, pouring another glass of scotch and downing it. The TV was on in front of him, turned low enough he could only hear it with vamp of he and Katherine flashed through his mind with each drink, each one reminding him he was alone.

_**I've never been the kind to ever let my feelings show**_  
_**And I thought that bein' strong meant never losin' your self-control**_

Damon had been raised to never cry. Crying showed weakness and loss of self control. Plus it was just unmanly to cry.

_**But I'm just drunk enough to let go of my pain**_  
_**To hell with my pride, let it fall like rain**_  
_**From my eyes**_  
_**Tonight I wanna cry**_

But tonight he was drunk enough to do it. His eyes were burning as they filled his eyes. His pride vanished as they fell to to the ground. He would cry tonight, but never again. Not for Stefan or...no, he'd probably cry for Elena.

_**Would it help if I turned a sad song on**_  
_**"All By Myself" would sure hit me hard now that you're gone**_  
_**Or maybe unfold some old yellow lost love letters**_  
_**It's gonna hurt bad before it gets better**_  
_**But I'll never get over you by hidin' this way**_

Damon wanted all the tears gone as quickly as they would go. So, he stood from the couch and turned the radio on. He found 'Tonight I Wanna Cry.' from Keith Urban and let the lyrics fill the air. He'd gone up to his room, pried up one of his floorboards and pulled out the box of letters from he and Katherine in 1864. Elena had told him that first night that the pain wouldn't just disappear. It was going to have to hurt for a little while. And that more he bottled it up, the more it would hurt. Lucky Damon, he'd only been bottling it up for 163 years. Since the night his mother died.

_**I've never been the kind to ever let my feelings show**_  
_**And I thought that bein' strong meant never losin' your self-control**_  
_**But I'm just drunk enough to let go of my pain**_  
_**To hell with my pride, let it fall like rain**_  
_**From my eyes**_  
_**Tonight I wanna cry**_

He read over the letters, remember old things that they would do, remembering evening walks in the gardens, anything that increased the pain. Around midnight, and the time Stefan and Elena came home, Damon was crying good. Elena walked over to him, leaving Stefan to watch them. She put her are around his shoulders and told him to let it all out and it would be better. He laid his head on her shoulder when was done.

"Stay with me?" He asked.

"Sure." She answered, pushing his hair away from his face.

"Thank you." He whispered, letting his eyes close

"For what?" Elena asked, suddenly feeling tired herself.

"Everything." He said before drifting to sleep. Elena followed him soon after.

_**I've never been the kind to ever let my feelings show**_  
_**And I thought that bein' strong meant never losin' your self-control**_  
_**But I'm just drunk enough to let go of my pain**_  
_**To hell with my pride, let it fall like rain**_  
_**From my eyes**_  
_**Tonight I wanna cry**_


	21. Wasted

_**Standing at the back door she tried to make it fast**_  
_**One tear hit the hard wood it fell like broken glass**_  
_**She said, "Sometimes love slips away**_  
_**And you just can't get it back, let's face it"**_

Elena was at the back door of the Salvatore house. She had to this, she hadto sort things out. A tear slipped down her cheek and she turned to Stefan.

"Some times love doesn't work out." She whispered. "I'm sorry, but I need to do this. For my self. For us." She walked out the door without saying goodbye to Damon who was drinking in the next room.

_**For one split second, she almost turned around**_  
_**But that would be like pouring rain drops back into a cloud**_  
_**So she took another step and said**_  
_**"I see the way out and I'm gonna' take it"**_

She almost turned around to do it. To say good bye to him. But if she turned around, she'd stay. She'd try to change him and he'd make her fall for him. She saw her way out of that. She was going to see her cousin in Virginia Beach for a few weeks.

_**I don't wanna spend my life jaded, waiting**_  
_**To wake up one day and find**_  
_**That I've let all these years go by wasted**_

She didn't want to stay with Stefan and want Damon. She didn't want to have Damon and want Stefan. She had to work her feelings out and choose one brother.

_**Another glass of whiskey but it still don't kill the pain**_  
_**So he stumbles to the sink and pours it down the drain**_  
_**He says, "It's time to be a man and stop living for yesterday**_  
_**Gotta face it"**_

Damon had heard what happened in the other room three weeks ago. He'd heard Elena say good bye to Stefan and leave. She didn't bother coming to see him. He tried to drink his pain away and it didn't work. Stefan had left town, too. Alaric was busy with Jenna, planing the wedding. He was alone. He stood and stumbled to the sink and dumped the scotch out. He'd have to move on. Elena was never going to come back to him. He should try to...He shook his head and turned back to the alcohol cabnet. He poured it all out.

_**'Cause I don't wanna spend my life jaded, waiting**_  
_**To wake up one day and find**_  
_**That I've let all these years go by wasted**_

He was tired of being wasted all the time he was done with that.

_**Oh I don't wanna keep on wishing, missing**_  
_**The still of the morning, the color of the night**_  
_**I ain't spending no more time wasted**_

_**She kept drivin' along**_  
_**'Til the moon and the sun were floating side-by-side**_

Elena was sitting at an outdoor bar with her cousin having guys hit on her every twenty minutes. She turned them all down. Hercousin thought she was crazy but Elena couldn't stop regretting not saying goodbye.

_**He looked in the mirror and his eyes were clear**_  
_**For the first time in a while, yeah yeah**_

Damon looked in the mirror for the first time in weeks and he looked...better. His eyes were clear and he was sober.

_**Oh, I don't wanna spend my life jaded, waiting**_  
_**To wake up one day and find**_  
_**That I've let all these years go by wasted**_

He called her. She hadn't answered.

"Uh...you probably don't care but...I'm sober. For weeks and there is no alcohol in the house. Stefan's gone. Alaric's engaged. I need you. Please, Elena...I love you."

_**Oh I don't wanna keep on wishing, missing**_  
_**The still of the morning, the color of the night**_  
_**I ain't spending no more time wasted**_

She got Damon's message and left her cousin without saying good bye. She had to get to him.

_**Oh I don't wanna spend my life jaded, waiting**_  
_**To wake up one day and find**_  
_**That I've let all these years go by wasted, yeah, yeah**_

She stopped the car at the end of drive way, she wanted to surprise him. She ran to the door and pushed it open.

"Damon!" She yelled. "Damon?"

"Elena?" He asked at the top of the stairs.

She ran up them and hugged him tight.

"I'm sorry." She gasped, out of breath. "I should of said good bye. No, I never should have left! I-"

_**Oh I don't wanna keep on wishing, missing**_  
_**The still of the morning, the color of the night**_  
_**I ain't spending no more time wasted**_

Damon pressed a kiss to her lips.

"You're home now." He whispered. "And I'm done drinking. Never again, I promise."

"I'm never leaving again." Elena promised. They kept their promises for the rest of there lives together. Damon changed her when she was ready and he didn't look at alcohol. Elena never tried to find an escape from him, again.


	22. Blood Brothers

_**Bruce Springsteen**_

_**We played king of the mountain out on the end**_  
_**The world come chargin' up the hill, and we were women and men**_

"No, Damon," a six year old Stefan whined. "I don't wanna play." They were on the top of a hill and Damon suggested King of the mountain.

"Don't be a baby," The nine year old shot back. "James and I play all the time! No one gets hurt!" So, Stefan agreed and they began to push eachother around. Damon slipped up and fell.

"OW!"

"Dami? Are you okay?" Stefan asked, silding down the hill next to his brother.

"No. My leg. I can't move it..." Stefan ran to get their father and Damon was rushed to the doctor, he'd broken his leg. Stefan never played king of the mountain again.

_**Now there's so much that time, time and memory fade away**_  
_**We got our own roads to ride and chances we gotta take**_  
_**We stood side by side each one fightin' for the other**_  
_**We said until we died we'd always be blood brothers**_

On his nineteenth birthday, Damon was given a draft card. Stefan had been upset. Damon went up to his room, where he was laying on his bed, starring at the ceiling. Damon streched out beside im and looked up, too.

"You know, you can stare at it, all you want. The ceiling won't change." Damon said.

"It's not fair." Stefan said. Damon sighed.

"It's not a choice. This is important, Stefan. I have to go. We can't stay together forever. When I come back-"

"If you come back."

"_**WHEN**_ I come back, I'm going to get married eventually. You'll have to go on your own, have your own life."

"When I become of age, do you think we'll fight together?"

"You're sixteen, Stefan, don't worry about it now."

"What if you don't come back?"

"We'll always be brothers, we just won't see as much of each other." Stefan laughed and they talked most of the night.

_**Now the hardness of this world slowly grinds your dreams away**_  
_**Makin' a fool's joke out of the promises we make**_  
_**And what once seemed black and white turns to so many shades of gray**_  
_**We lose ourselves in work to do and bills to pay**_  
_**And it's a ride, ride, ride, and there ain't much cover**_  
_**With no one runnin' by your side my blood brother**_

Damon did come back, but he and Stefan's friendship was strained, by a woman. Every promise of friendship and family slowly broke as the fought for her. They also had jobs to do around the house and didn't see eachother alot. Eventually they never spoke and when they did it was evil words.

_**On through the houses of the dead past those fallen in their tracks**_  
_**Always movin' ahead and never lookin' back**_  
_**Now I don't know how I feel, I don't know how I feel tonight**_  
_**If I've fallen 'neath the wheel, if I've lost or I've gained sight**_  
_**I don't even know why, I don't know why I made this call**_  
_**Or if any of this matters anymore after all**_

Now, over one hundred years later, they still hated on another. Damon had went on his way, killing and useing people, never trying to find Stefan. Stefan hunted animals and went to school. Now, they had both returned to Mystic Falls and it wasn't easy. Damon was after Katherine and Stefan's girlfriend, Elena.

"Stefan?" Damon said at his door way. It was around one in the morning, and Stefan was trying to sleep.

"What?" He asked sitting up. His hair was pointing out in wild directions, Damon resisted the urge to ruffle it and make it wilder.

"Let's go toss the football." He said.

"It's one in teh morning, and I have school tomorrow."

"Lay out. I'll write you note."

"No." Stefan said.

Sudenly Damon was leaning over him.

"Don't make me ask again." Stefan hit him with a pillow and turned away.

"Pretty please, darling brother?" Damon said, crawling in the bed and shaking his shoulder. "Please, please, please!"

"Go away." Damon huffed.

"You're so mean to me." He said, rolling onto his back. "So much for blood brothers."

Stefan's eyes snapped open.

_**But the stars are burnin' bright like some mystery uncovered**_  
_**I'll keep movin' through the dark with you in my heart**_  
_**My blood brother**_

Hours later the Salvatore brothers were laughing and tackleing one another into thje mud. They eventually fell next to each other, laughing and looked up at the stars.

"You know, when I get Katherine back, I'm leaving." Damon said.

"I figured." It was quiet for a long time and Damon sighed.

"You know, I've worried about you? I've hated you, but I kept waiting for you call, saying someone was after you. I would have bashed some heads in."

"Why?"

"Because you're my brother. Nothing's ever going to change that." Damon said, looking over at him. Stefan met his eyes and smiled. He lifted his hand.

"Blood Brothers?" Damon looked at him for a minute, then put his hand in his brothers.

"Forever."


	23. Didn't I

_**Didn't I make you proud?**_  
_**Go and lay my life down when you called my name?**_  
_**I thought I stood for somethin'**_  
_**Was doin' the right thing when I went away**_  
_**Now being back should be so simple**_  
_**But I keep gettin' these mixed signals from everyone**_  
_**Why do folks sit and judge me**_  
_**Who aint seen what I've seen or did what I done?**_

1864, Damon Salvatore just returned home on leave from service in the civil war. He thought everyone would be orud of him, he'd put his life of the line for something he thought was important. But everyone was diferent to him. The few who did shake his hand or thank him, didn't look him the eyes. Others would talk behind his back. These people didn't support the war, or had family members who had died and were angry that Gussippes eldest, and least loved, son got to come home.

_**Didn't I burn?**_  
_**Didn't I bleed enough for you?**_  
_**I faced your fears,**_  
_**Felt pain,**_  
_**So you won't have to**_  
_**Yeah didn't I do my best**_  
_**And wasn't home here when I left?**_

"Father, can we talk?" Damon asked at his fathers office door, a few nights after his return.

"Yes, of course. Come in." Damon entered and took a seat.

"Everyone seems upset over my return home." Damon said. "I cannot help but feel they do not appreciate it?"

"Many don't support the war, son."

"Yes, but they could at least show some sympathy! I was burned, shot, and forced to watched my friends die! I faced everyones fears. Didn't I do the best I could? Wasn't home here before I was shipped off?"

_**I've seen boys fall to pieces**_  
_**Grown men cry out for Jesus 'til they're black and blue**_  
_**I thought God was on our side...**_  
_**Weren't we supposed to be the good guys that would never lose?**_

"Well, Damon, I cannot control people-"

"I was boys, Stefan's age, fall into hystarics because there brother died! I saw men being tourchered, begging for Gods forgiveness! I thought God was supposed to help us! I thought he was on our side!"

"Now, Damon I-"

_**'Cause I don't see no ticker tape**_  
_**or five mile parade sayin' "thank you son"**_  
_**Just folks that sit and judge me**_  
_**Who aint seen what I've seen or did what I done**_

"And you never thanked me. You are the one who forced me to go. All I see are people judgeing me, who have no right to pass judgement! They don't know what I saw!" Damon rose from his seat and left his Fathers office.

The next day, he, Stefan and Katherine, went into town. Two older women, who had know Damon his whole life, began to whisper as they past. Stefan clamped a hand on Damon's shoulder.

"I appreciate you, Brother." He said. Damon smiled slightly and Katherine looped his arm into hers.

"My hero." She said. "Come, I am meeting Pearl in the store. Excuse us, Stefan." Damon gave him an apologetic looked and walked away.

_**Didn't I burn?**_  
_**Didn't I bleed enough for you?**_  
_**I faced your fears,**_  
_**Felt pain,**_  
_**So you won't have to**_  
_**Yeah didn't I do my best**_  
_**And wasn't home here when I left?**_


	24. Diary

_**I read your diary**_  
_**And it said**_  
_**That you weren't in love with me**_  
_**And you're leaving**_  
_**And I wish that I didn't see**_  
_**That you fell in love with him, him, him**_  
_**But I read your diary**_

_**I saw a book with lock and key right next to your name**_  
_**I, I, I, I couldn't help myself cause things aint just been the same**_  
_**Can you please tell me cause this shit is so insane**_  
_**My heart is bleeding**_  
_**Papercut from reading, reading**_

Stefan was sitting in Elena's room, waiting for her to get out of the shower. He looked around and saw her diary. He glanced towards the door and then picked it up. Things hadn't been right between them for a whlie. He poened it.

_**Page 1**_  
_**Says that your falling in and out of love**_

_Dear diary, _  
_Things are different latly. Stefan and I wil be apart and then we'll be really close. _

_**Page 2**_  
_**Says all them things I do just aint enough**_

_It's not as good as it used to be. Stefan isn't as adveturouse in bed as he used to be._

_**Page 3**_  
_**No I couldn't see, Page 3 says you don't know how to explain it to me**_

_I don't know how to tell him that I've been with Damon, too._

_**But I read your diary**_  
_**And it said**_  
_**That you weren't in love with me**_  
_**And you're leaving**_  
_**And I wish that I didn't see**_  
_**That you fell in love with him, him, him**_  
_**But I read your diary**_  
_**Oh Oh Oh**_  
_**Your diary**_  
_**Oh Oh Oh**_

She'd writen that she wasn't in love with Stefan anymore and that she was leaving him for Damon.

_**I turn the page and see a picture of you and him**_  
_**No, No, No, that was the night you told me you were out with your**_  
_**Friends**_  
_**And now I know that my kiss was just S, Second**_  
_**My heart is bleeding**_  
_**Papercut from reading, reading...**_

He turned to the next page there was a picture of her Damon the night she was supposed to at a sleep over at Bonnie's. She was hanging with him a lot latly, o wonder.

_**Page 4**_  
_**Says your addicted to sexin him every night**_

_Damon comes over every night, after Stefan leaves to hunt, or is asleep. I'm addicted to him._

_**Page 5**_  
_**Has all the reasons you know that this isn't right**_

_I know it's wrong because he's Stefan's older brother, Carolines ex, a player, Bonnie hates him, and I'm still dating Stefan._

_**Page 6**_  
_**I can't handle this**_  
_**I feel just like JT on that cry me a river shit**_

_**Cause I read your diary**_  
_**And it said**_  
_**That you weren't in love with me**_  
_**And your leaving**_  
_**And I wish that I didn't see**_  
_**That you fell in love with him, him, him**_  
_**But I read your diary**_  
_**Oh Oh Oh**_  
_**Your diary**_  
_**Oh Oh Oh**_

Stefan picked up her pen and wrote on the next page,

_**Let's make a list**_  
_**(Check)**_  
_**Broken promises**_  
_**(Check)**_  
_**How you always told me you loved me right after every kiss**_  
_**(Check)**_  
_**And you, you always talkin shit**_  
_**On them other chicks**_  
_**(Check)**_  
_**And now it's obvious that we know who the real bitch is...**_

_I read everything. Now it's my turn._  
_Let's make a list of things you've you done since this started._

_1. You told me you loved everytime we kissed._

_ a girl ever looked at me you got mad._

_But now we both know how it really is. Goodbye, Elena._

_**I read your diary**_  
_**And it said**_  
_**That you weren't in love with me**_  
_**And you're leaving**_  
_**And I wish that I didn't see**_  
_**That you fell in love with him, him, him**_  
_**But I read your diary**_  
_**Oh Oh Oh**_  
_**Your diary**_  
_**Oh Oh Oh**_  
_**Your Diary**_


	25. Who Am I Fooling?

_**EPOV**_

_**My skin doesn't fit**_  
_**My words seem so hollow**_  
_**I feel like a fraud**_  
_**And that's a bitter pill to swallow**_  
_**Sometimes it hits me right between the eyes**_  
_**Everyone can see through my disguise**_

I didn't feel right in my world any more. I had no parents, my brother was the new town druggie, and I'd just dumped my bestfriend/boyfriend. I felt like everyone could see though me, now. I wasn't the cool, confident girl anymore.

_**Who am I fooling**_  
_**I'm just a smiling face**_  
_**In a make-believe world**_  
_**Who am I fooling**_  
_**I'm just a wannabe**_  
_**So easy to replace**_  
_**Pretending I'm a perfect girl**_

So quickly, I was out of the popular circle. Bonnie had stepped out with me. Caroline had took my queen bee place and had all the boys falling all over her. I tried to keep up the happy golden girl cheerleader act for a while, but my grades started to drop.

_**All alone in the mirror**_  
_**All alone on the shelf**_  
_**I'm trying to hold on**_  
_**To a little piece of myself**_  
_**Doesn't anybody realize**_  
_**Even I don't buy my own disguise**_

I felt more alone than I ever had. I was trying to cling to my old life, but that was long gone. I looked in the mirror and repeated the words over and over. Even I didn't fall for it.

_**Who am I fooling**_  
_**I'm just a smiling face**_  
_**In a make-believe world**_  
_**Who am I fooling**_  
_**I'm just a wannabe**_  
_**So easy to replace**_  
_**Pretending I'm a perfect girl**_

_**There's a part of me that's fighting back**_  
_**There's a part of me that knows**_  
_**When I'm pouring out my heart**_  
_**I'm still putting on a show**_

It was the begining of my Senior year and I was going to better. I was still acting, I was pouring my heart into it though.

_**Who am I fooling**_  
_**In a make-believe world**_  
_**Who am I fooling**_  
_**So easy to replace**_  
_**Pretending I'm a perfect girl**_

When I met Stefan, thing started to get better. Then they got worse again when Damon came in. Then, he got nicer and they looked up again. Jeremy stopped with the drugs, my friends slowly came back, and I had a great boyfriend and new best friend.

_**Who am I fooling**_  
_**I'm just a smiling face**_  
_**In a make-believe world**_  
_**Who am I fooling**_  
_**I'm just a wannabe**_  
_**So easy to replace**_  
_**Pretending I'm a perfect girl**_

I still acted sometimes, when things were going wrong. I tried to be perfect around Stefan and everyone else, and let loose a bit with Damon. I didn't fake smile and gave up trying to lie.

_**Who am I fooling**_  
_**I'm just a smiling face**_  
_**In a make-believe world**_  
_**Who am I fooling**_  
_**I'm just a wannabe**_  
_**So easy to replace**_  
_**Pretending I'm a perfect girl**_  
_**Pretending I'm a perfect girl**_


	26. I Pray For You

DPOV

It was hard for me to sleep since I found out about Katherine's betrayal. I had dreams about her.

_**Sometimes when I sleep**_  
_**I can see you walkin' back to me**_  
_**Sometimes I wake up**_  
_**'Cause I swear I felt your touch**_  
_**Then emotions over come me**_  
_**And the darkness is so cold**_

She'd come back to me, beg my forgiveness, that I would so quickly give. Then she'd reach out and put her hand on my cheek. I start awake then, my cheek tingling. Every time tears would come and the darkness she'd pulled me into with her lies was colder the than anything I'd ever felt.

_**I light a candle, watch it burn**_  
_**I feel the angels come and fill this room**_  
_**Oh, when you're gone I miss you so much**_  
_**I do the only thing I can do**_  
_**I pray for you**_  
_**I pray for you**_

So I'd get up and light the candle I kept in my room in case Elena was with me during a black out. Then I'd sit there and watch it burn, for no reason. I felt something fill the room around and I missed her so much that I did something I would usually never do. I'd pray for her.

_**Every minute of the day**_  
_**I can clearly see your face**_  
_**And every minute we're apart**_  
_**Oh, you know it just breaks my heart**_  
_**I'm so lonely, but I'm OK**_  
_**'Cause I know we'll be together again**_

Every second of every day I could see her face, hear her voice, and feel her touch. It had nothing to do with Elena, though. It was all Katherine. My heart broke just tiny cracks at a time, making it hurt more. I'd been lonely for one hundred and forty five years and nothing was ever better.

_**I light a candle, watch it burn**_  
_**I feel the angels come and fill this room**_  
_**Oh, when you're gone I miss you so much**_  
_**I do the only thing I can do**_  
_**I pray for you**_  
_**I pray for you**_  
_**Oh, I pray for you**_

I woke up again and looked around desperately for her. She wasn't there. I got up and lit my candle. I watched it for a moment and bowed my head

_**"Please hold her and protect her**_  
_**'Til she's back here in my arms again**_  
_**Oh and Tell her how I love her**_  
_**And I'll be waitin' right here forever, AMEN"**_

_**I feel the angels come and fill this room**_  
_**Oh, when you're gone I miss you so much**_  
_**I do the only thing I can do**_  
_**I pray for you**_  
_**I pray for you**_

I blew the candle out and laid down again. I fell into a deep sleep and didn't wake until ten the next morning.


	27. I ain't hurting nobody but me

_**You'll find me here**_  
_**From happy hour to closing time**_  
_**The jukebox is playing the same old song**_  
_**A hundred times**_  
_**Bartender looks at me**_  
_**With the saddest eyes**_  
_**When I say 'Keep 'em coming, 'till i'm stumbling**_  
_**The way you did last night'**_

Damon was at the bar, again. He was always there, from happy hour until last call. People kept playing the same old sad song, that made him feel worse. The bar tender would glance at him with sad eyes, sad because someone that young was already an alcoholic.

"Keep the drinks coming." Damon would say to him. "Until I'm stumbleing out the door. Like last night."

"Why are you all way drinking?" The bar man asked, pouring him anoither.

"Why not?

"Well, you're a good looking young guy, shouldn't you have a date or something?" Damon shook his head.

"Or are you fighting with your girlfriend?" Damon looked up the oldest and saddest eyes the old man had ever seen.

_**I ain't hurting nobody but me**_  
_**Ain't no one wondering when i'm coming home**_  
_**Ain't nowhere i gotta be**_  
_**The only heart I'm breaking**_  
_**Is the broken one inside of me**_  
_**So take my keys**_  
_**And pour my drink**_  
_**But let me be**_  
_**Cause I ain't hurting nobody but me**_

"I'm not hurting any body but me, there's no one wondering when I'll come stumbling in at home. I have no where to go after this, the heart that's being broken is the already broken inside me." He fished his keys out of his pocket and tossed them to him. "So, take my keys, and pour me another drink."

_**There was a time, so many times**_  
_**I caused her pain**_  
_**Saw her cry**_  
_**But I closed my eyes and I wouldn't change**_  
_**And I became all those things that now I hate**_  
_**I swore I'd never hurt another**_  
_**Since the day she left**_

"I was like you once." The bar man said leaning on the bar.

"You were a drunk who hated his brother for something thing that happened...four years ago?"

"What happened four years ago?"

"We fell for the same girl. We fought over her, she dumped us both, she died in a fire."

"No, it wasn't that. but was in love. But my drinking hurt her and she begged me to stop. I wouldn't. So, she left. She went to someone who was sober and I never heard from her again."

_**I ain't hurting nobody but me**_  
_**Ain't no one wondering when I'm coming home**_  
_**Ain't no where I gotta be**_  
_**The only heart I'm breaking**_  
_**Is the broken one inside of me**_  
_**So take my keys**_  
_**And pour my drink**_  
_**But let me be**_  
_**Cause I ain't hurting nobody but me**_  
_**I ain't hurting nobody but me**_

"That's rough. I'm in love with my brothers girl, again. Not that I'd tell her." Out of the corner of his eye he saw Elena come in. "Speak of the devil."

"Damon.," She said, taking a seat next to him. "It's time to come home. Let's go." Damon finished his drink.

"Can I get my keys?" Elena shook her head.

"I'll drive you down here in the morning." She said, taking his hand and pulling him up.

"Thanks for the talk." Damon said, laying some bills on the bar. He allowed Elena to drag him out into the night.


	28. I Still Miss You

_**I've changed the presets in my truck**_  
_**So those old songs don't sneak up**_  
_**They still find me and remind me**_  
_**Yeah you come back that easy**_

Damon had changed all his presets so the songs that reminded him of Katherine, but they would pop up and make him remember her.

_**Try restaurants I've never been to**_  
_**Order new things off the menu**_  
_**That I never tried cause you didn't like**_  
_**And two drinks in you were by my side**_

He ordered thing he thought she wouldn't like, but after two drinks she was next to him, asking him what the hell he was eatting.

_**I've talked to friends, talked to myself**_  
_**I've talked to God, I prayed liked hell**_  
_**But I still miss you**_  
_**I tried sober, I tried drinking**_  
_**I've been strong and I've been weak**_  
_**And I still miss you**_  
_**I've done everything, move on like I'm supposed to**_  
_**I'd give anything for one more minute with you**_  
_**I still miss you**_  
_**I still miss you baby**_

He'd talked to Stefan and Elena, he'd talked to himself and made Stefan think he was insane. He'd tried praying, but it didn't make the pain stop. He'd tried drinking her away and he'd tried staying sober, but it didn't gelp. He'd had moments where he was about to take off his ring and walk into the sun, but Elena had talked him off the edge. He'd burned her picture, tossed everything that she gave him except life, and had fallen in love with someone eles, like he was supposed to, to move on, but he would have sold his soul, had he had one, to the devil himself for more second with her.

_**I never knew till you were gone**_  
_**How many pages you were on**_  
_**Well it never ends I keep turning and**_  
_**Line after line and you are there again**_

He'd flip through his old journals, not knowing how many pages of past Katherine was on. He kept flipping through pages and her name was on every page. Saying how much he loved her.

_**I don't know how to let you go**_  
_**You're so deep down in my soul**_  
_**I feel helpless, so hopeless**_  
_**It's a door that never closes**_  
_**No I don't know how to do this**_

He couldn't figure out how to let her go, she was such a big part of him. He felt helpless for the first time in years.

_**I've talked to friends, talked to myself**_  
_**I've talked to God, I prayed liked hell**_  
_**But I still miss you**_  
_**I tried sober, I tried drinking**_  
_**I've been strong and I've been weak**_  
_**And I still miss you**_  
_**I've done everything, move on like I'm supposed to**_  
_**And I'd give anything for one more minute with you**_  
_**I still miss you, yeah**_

So, he kept talking to others, himself, and prayed. He was still drinking. But, at the end of the day, he still missed her, and that wouldn't ever change.

_**I've talked to friends, talked to myself**_  
_**I've talked to God, I prayed liked hell**_  
_**But I still miss you**_  
_**I've tried sober, I've tried drinking**_  
_**I've been strong and I've been weak**_  
_**And I still miss you**_  
_**I've done everything, move on like I'm supposed to**_  
_**I'd give anything for one more minute with you**_  
_**I still miss you**_  
_**I still miss you**_

_**I still miss you baby**_  
_**I still miss you, yeah, yeah**_


	29. Stay Away

_**Where's my will,**_  
_**Can I find a way,**_  
_**The earth is wild,**_  
_**And I can't sit still,**_

Elena could have found her way out of her friendship with Damon but she didn't have the will. He could and would protect her from anything, even if it killed him. She was going to end this today and she couldn't sit still on her bed, her hands keep shaking.

_**A familiar sound,**_  
_**A familiar voice,**_  
_**Makes it so hard,**_  
_**To make a choice,**_  
_**I don't know if I should stay,**_

She hears the familiar sound of the curtains blowing as he enters through her window, suddenly he's opening her drawers and pulling her bras and things out.

"Hello, Kitten." He smiles. That smile, that only came out when she was around, made it impossible to do this. She gets up and take her bra from her hands and puts it in the drawer. He moves to her bed and grabs her teddy bear.

"We need a custody agreement for him." Damon said. "He loves me." Elena took a seat next to him.

"How do you know?"

"He told me. No really, he did! I was holding him one night and he said, 'Hey Damon, I like you more than that mean old Kitten.'" Elena swatted at him and he laughed.

_**A thousand stars,**_  
_**You will have my word,**_  
_**I'm bright enough,**_  
_**To fill these cracks,**_

Damon was laying out in the back yard, after Katherine had betrayed him. Elena came out and saw him. She felt horrible for him, but she was the only one who knew what to say. She walked out and laid down next to him.

"Talk." She whispered after a second.

"Have you ever felt like you were breaking, just little cracks at a time?" He said quietly, his voice soaked with heart break.

"No, not really. But, I'm here for you, Damon. I promise."

_**A familiar place,**_  
_**A familiar voice,**_  
_**Makes it so hard.**_  
_**To make a choice,**_  
_**I don't know if I should stay,**_

The second time she was going to say goodbye to him, he was laying back in the yard again. It was a warm night. She walked over to him and laid down.

"It's her birthday." He said in that same heart broken voice. So, she changed her mind again and comforted him again.

_**I ran to you like water**_  
_**I threw my body in**_  
_**And I'll stand up on the ocean**_  
_**Just to show you that I am strong, strong**_  
_**But what if I am wrong**_

And, when she need comfort, she'd run to him and he'd do whatever he could for her.

"What are friends for?" He'd ask, but he'd have a gleam in eyes, like he knew she was trying to say goodbye, and was just bideing his time, waiting for it.

But, he'd do that thing with his eyes, or smile and she'd change her mind.

She'd fallen for both brothers, and she had to make a choice.

_**A familiar look**_  
_**A familiar smile**_  
_**Makes it so hard**_  
_**To make a choice**_  
_**I don't know if I should stay away**_


	30. No One Has Eyes Like You

_**Sometimes they look brown**_  
_**Sometimes they look blue**_  
_**Always they offer a beautiful view**_  
_**Into the soul I'm connected to**_  
_**No one has eyes like you**_

When Damon was mad, he's eyes looked brown, or black. But, when he was happy, or as happy Damon gets, they're ice blue and beautiful. When Elena looked into them, at any time, she could see the soul that he kept hidden from the world.

_**They dance in the light**_  
_**They sing in the dark**_  
_**They pull me together**_  
_**They tear me apart**_  
_**I'm jealous of paper when you read the news**_  
_**Oh no one has eyes like you**_

His eyes danced in sunlight and sung in the moonlight, they calmed Elena when she was scarred, they scarred her when she was calm. When She'd come inside, or down stairs, and see him reading the paper or watching news, he was intense and serious, she was jealous.

_**They hold me, they know me**_  
_**Like no one will ever know me**_  
_**They fly me**_  
_**They land me**_  
_**Most of all they understand me**_

When he looked into her eyes, he held them. They knew her, in every way. They knew what every move she made and why she made them. They understood her.

_**They shout hallelujah when you whisper my name**_  
_**Patiently listen to whatever I say**_  
_**They playful and funny**_  
_**And passionate too**_  
_**No one has eyes like you**_

When he came into her room and whispered her name, they yelled Hallelujah. They were patient when she complained about her day, they were were playful when he was going through her drawers or playing with her teddy bears. They were funny when he was being sarcastic. But, when it was just them and they were talking, they were passionate about everything.

_**They hold me, and they know me**_  
_**Like no one will ever know me**_  
_**And They fly me**_  
_**And They land me**_  
_**Most of all they understand me**_

_**They smile when I'm happy**_  
_**They cry when I'm sad**_  
_**They make me out to be more than I am**_  
_**Oh no one loves me more than you do**_  
_**And no one has eyes like you**_  
_**Oh no one has eyes baby like you**_

When Elena was happy Damon's eyes laughed and smiled with her, but were full of sadness when she cried. They made her out to be his Princess of Darkness, that she was the only girl he wanted. But she wasn't his. But, in those eyes, it looked like no one could love her as much, though he tried so hard to hide it.

No one elses eyes told a story like his. No one else had his eyes.


	31. Little Moments

_**Well I'll never forget the first time that I heard**_  
_**That pretty mouth say that dirty word**_  
_**And I can't even remember now what she backed my truck into**_  
_**But she covered her mouth and her face got red**_  
_**And she just looked so darn cute**_  
_**That I couldn't even act like I was mad**_  
_**Yeah I live for little moments like that**_

"Fuck!" Elena yelled, when she backed Damon's car into something behind them. Her hand shot up to her mouth and her cheeks flushed a dark, dark red. Damon couldn't feel mad that Elena had messed up his car, all he could do was laugh ans say it was okay.

"No it isn't! What did I hit? Stop laughing!" Damon only laughed harder. Elena never drove his car again.

_**Well that's just like last year on my birthday**_  
_**She lost all track of time and burnt the cake**_  
_**And every smoke detector in the house was goin' off**_  
_**And she was just about to cry until I took her in my arms**_  
_**And I tried not to let her see me laugh**_  
_**Yeah I live for little moments like that**_

On his birthday, he awakened from a nap by smoke detector's blaring. He jumped up and ran to the kitchen where Elena was almost in tears.

"I was trying to make you a cake. I was cleaning up my mess, and lost track of time and..." Damon pulled her to before she broke down, trying not to laugh.

Then the sprinklers came on. Elena looked up at the water coming from the ceiling.

"Oh my God." She moaned, burying her face in Damon's chest.

"It's okay." He said, unable to contain his laughter.

_**I know she's not perfect but she tries so hard for me**_  
_**And I thank god that she isn't 'cause how boring would that be**_  
_**It's the little imperfections it's the sudden change in plans**_  
_**When she misreads the directions and we're lost but holdin' hands**_  
_**Yeah I live for little moments like that**_

Elena was certainly not perfect. But she tried to be. Damon was glad she wasn't, he knew girls who thought they were perfect _*Caroline*_, and they were whiny, naggy, and boring. It was little thing that messed up and her sudden changes in her plans that Damon loved. Like the time they were going to some ski resort water park in Massanutten and sh read the directions wrong, and they got lost.

_**When she's layin' on my shoulder on the sofa in the dark**_  
_**And about the time she falls asleep so does my right arm**_  
_**And I want so bad to move it 'cause it's tinglin' and it's numb**_  
_**But she looks so much like an angel that I don't wanna wake her up**_

Or when they were laying on the couch, waiting for Stefan to get home, watching some stupid movie. She have her head, laying on his arm and she falls asleep. Unfortunately, so does his arm. His arm would tingle and hurt with every little movement she made, and he wanted so bad to move his arm, but he didn't want to wake her up. She looked like an angel, even with her little snores.  
Plus, if her woke up, she'd hit him and go right back to sleep.

_**Yeah I live for little moments**_  
_**When she steals my heart again and doesn't even know it**_  
_**Yeah I live for little moments like that**_

But every little thing she did, she'd steal his heart and not even know, and that was what he lived for.


	32. You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This

Damon took Elena to another club after a big fight with Stefan. They had drinks and joked and trash talked Stefan. Then her favorite song started.

"Dance with me." It was a question, it was a demand. He let herr pull him out to the dance floor. He put his arms around her waist as her went around his neck. They sway and spun for a little while.

"You a good dancer." She whispered, placing her hand on the back of head and pulling him closer.

"So are you." He whispered back. And, in a moment like that, Elena acted on impulse. She pressed her lips to Damon's.

_**I got a funny feeling**_  
_**The moment that your lips touched mine**_  
_**Something shot right through me**_  
_**My heart skipped a beat in time**_

A crazy feeling shot through Damon, like if she hadn't been holding him, he'd have floated away. His heart had skipped a beat as he kissed her back.

There's a different feel about you tonight  
It's got me thinkin' lots of crazy things  
I even think I saw a flash of light  
It felt like electricity

He knew there was something different about them tonight, it made him start to think about her and him as a couple. He saw a flash of light behind his eyes when he closed him.

_**You shouldn't kiss me like this**_  
_**Unless you mean it like that**_  
_**Cause I'll just close my eyes**_  
_**And I won't know where I'm at**_  
_**We'll get lost on this dance floor**_  
_**Spinnin' around**_  
_**And around**_  
_**And around**_  
_**And around**_

"You shouldn't to that." He whispered, when she pulled away.

"Why?"

"Because you don't mean it. And if you do it, I'll close my eyes and forget everything."

_**They're all watchin' us now**_  
_**They think we're falling in love**_  
_**They'd never believe we're just friends**_  
_**When you kiss me like this**_  
_**I think you mean it like that**_  
_**If you do baby kiss me again**_

"And they're all watching us. They think we're a cute little couple, so in love...they'll never believe we're only friend. Don't kiss me unless you mean it."

_**Everybody swears we make the perfect pair**_  
_**But dancing is as far as it goes**_  
_**Girl you've never moved me quite**_  
_**The way you moved me tonight**_  
_**I just wanted you to know**_  
_**I just wanted you to know**_

"They all say we'd make a great couple but dancing is as far as we ever go. But, what just happened?"

"This." She pulled his lips back to hers. He knew she meant it his time, even though she wouldn't remember it the next morning.

_**You shouldn't kiss me like this**_  
_**Unless you mean it like that**_  
_**Cause I'll just close my eyes**_  
_**And I won't know where I'm at**_  
_**We'll get lost on this dance floor**_  
_**Spinnin' around**_  
_**And around**_  
_**And around**_  
_**And around**_

"Let's get you home." He whispered. 'Back to Stefan.'

"Kay."

_**They're all watchin' us now**_  
_**They think we're falling in love**_  
_**They'd never believe we're just friends**_  
_**When you kiss me like this**_  
_**I think you mean it like that**_  
_**If you do baby kiss me again**_

Every one watched them leave the bar, whispering about how cute they looked. Damon put Elena in the car and started it. The drive home was quiet, no talking, no laughing, no radio. Damon's lips were still tingling and Elena was in a drunken haze.

He helped her out of the car, up the stairs and through the boarding house doors.

"Elena!" Stefan said, quickly taking her from Damon's arm, giving him an ice cold glare.

"Stefan." She whispered, clinging to him for dear life. Damon turned and walked off to the parlor, to get another drink.

He'd gotten two kisses, and that was enough. For now.

_**Kiss me again**_


	33. She Don't Tell Me To

_**Every now an' then, on my home,**_  
_**I stop at a spot where the wild flowers grow, an' I pick a few,**_  
_**she don't tell me to.**_

On Damon's way home from a council meeting, he saw some wild flowers and stopped he picked some. Elena had seen them a while back and loved them.

_**I go out with my boys all right,**_  
_**But most of the time I call it a night before they do,**_  
_**she don't tell me to.**_

He went out with his friends all the time after meeting, but he called it night before ten, so he could say good night to her.

_**Sunday mornin', I'm in church,**_  
_**An' my butt an' my back an' necktie hurt, but I'm in the pew,**_  
_**She don't tell me to.**_

He'd even stated to go to church with her. The pew hurt his back and he always had a hang over, but he was there next to her.

_**Any other woman I know would have tried,**_  
_**To control me and it would be over.**_  
_**Blame it on my goin' on my own way attitude.**_  
_**But All of that stubbornness melts away,**_  
_**When I wake with her head on my shoulder,**_  
_**An' I know I've got to love her,**_  
_**Until my life is through,**_  
_**she don't tell me to.**_

If he'd tried to be with anyone else she would have tried to stop his drinking and change him and he would have ended it. He blamed it on his ego. But all of that stubbornness disappeared when he woke with her next to when St. Stefan was hunting and she didn't want to alone. And he felt like he had to love her until he died.

_**Well, I got demons and I've got pride,**_  
_**But when I'm wrong, I apologize like she's mine to lose,**_  
_**She don't tell me to.**_

He had his share of past demons and problems. He had a lot of pride and was envious of Stefan in every way. But when said something rude he practically dropped to his knees and begged for forgiveness.

_**Well, I got dreams in this heart of mine,**_  
_**But nothin' that I wouldn't lay aside if she asked me to.**_  
_**'Cause she don't tell me to.**_

He had dreams of finding Katherine or getting out of this town, but if she asked him to he'd push them aside and wait for her.

_**An' she don't even know,**_  
_**That she keeps me lookin' for the next right thing to do,**_  
_**'Cause she don't tell me to.**_  
_**Yeah, yeah.**_

And she didn't know, but she kept him looking for something to do to make her love him back, she didn't ask him to.

_**Any other woman I know would have tried,**_  
_**To control me and it would be over.**_  
_**Blame it on my goin' on my own way attitude.**_  
_**But all of that stubbornness melts away,**_  
_**When I wake with her head on my shoulder,**_  
_**An' I know I've got to love her,**_  
_**Until my life is through,**_

But, no matter how hard he tried, she didn't see it. He was to afraid to tell her that he loved her. He knew she would refuse him, just like everyone else did.

_**What else can I do?**_  
_**What else can I do?**_  
_**Whoa, I love her,**_  
_**She don't tell me to.**_  
_**She don't tell me to.**_

"Hey, Elena!" He said coming into the house.

"Oh, Hey, Damon." She said, looking up from her book.

"Um...Here." He said, holding out the flowers.

"Damon, there pretty." She said, making no move to take them.

"But, you don't want them?" He said, walls going up.

"No...I mean, I love them." She took them from him and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

She took the flowers into the kitchen and Damon touched his cheek. He wore a smile for the rest of the day.

_**Every now an' then, on my home,**_  
_**I stop at a spot where the wild flowers grow, an' I pick a few,**_  
_**Yes I do.**_


	34. More Than A Memory

Damon shot up from his bed gasping and sweating, looking around his room. He sank back into his pillows and covered his face. Elena had abandopdoned him here in this town to run off with Stefan.

_**People say she's only in my head**_  
_**It's Gonna take time but I'll forget**_  
_**They Say I need to get on with my life**_  
_**They don't even realize**_

Everyone says that she's gone and I need to get over her. They say her memory will fade soon enough, get on with your life. But they didn't realize:

_**Is when you're dialing 6 numbers just to hang up the phone**_  
_**Driving across town just to see if she's home**_  
_**Waking a friend in the dead of the night**_  
_**Just to hear him say its gonna be alright**_  
_**When you're finding things to do not fall asleep**_  
_**Cause Know she will be there in your dreams**_  
_**That's when she's more than a memory**_

That he picked up his phone, dialed half her number, then ended the call. He would drive all the way to her house and get out of the before he remembered she was gone and he'd have to turn around. Having the same nightmare over and over and having to call Alaric at three in the morning to hear some one say it would be okay. When he was washing every dish they had, even though they weren't needed, cleaning the house, and watching pointless hours of TV, trying to stay awake because Elena and Katherine were haunting his dreams. To him, she was so much more than a memory.

_**Took a match to everything she ever wrote**_  
_**Watched her words go up in smoke**_  
_**Tore all her pictures off the wall**_  
_**That ain't helping me at all**_

He piled up every diary she had, all the letters to Stefan, all the notes she and Damon had passed, anything with her hand writing on it, poured gasoline all over it and tossed a match on it. It all burned slowly in front of his eyes. He'd torn every picture of her off the boarding house walls and and ripped the ones in his room. None of that helped him at all.

_**Cause when you're talking out loud but nobody's there**_  
_**You look like hell and you just don't care**_  
_**Drinking more than you ever drank**_  
_**Sinking down lower than you ever sank**_  
_**When you find yourself falling down upon your knees**_  
_**Praying to god, begging him "please"**_  
_**that's when she's more than a memory**_

He'd walk around the house, talking aloud like someone was there to answer his questions, he looked horrible form not sleeping and not hunting but he didn't give a damn. He had stopped touching scotch glasses and just poured down his throat from the bottle. He was sinking and this time, Elena was there to pull him back up. He was praying every night that he wouldn't see her, or to strike him there and take the pain, it didn't matter, he had nothing to live for now. But, God doesn't answer the prayers of demons.

_**She's more**_  
_**She's more**_

_**Cause when you're dialing six number just hang up the phone**_  
_**Driving across town just to see if she's home**_  
_**Waking a friend in the dead of night**_  
_**Just to hear him say it's gonna be alright**_  
_**When you're finding things to do not to fall asleep**_  
_**Cause you know she's waiting in your dreams**_  
_**That's when she's more than a memory**_

He'd called Alaric today and asked him to come over. He didn't say why, but Ric had known.

"Are you sure?" He asked. Damon pulled his off his ring and handed it to him.

"I don't want to remember anymore." Alaric nodded and followed Damon to the door.

"This is it." He said. "Bye, Ric." He said it like he was going on a trip, not committing suicide.

He opened the door and stepped outside. Little wisp of smoke rose from his skin as he walked, then laid down on a sunny patch and let the sun take him.

_**People say she's only in my head**_  
_**It's Gonna take time but I'll forget**_


	35. Break My Heart

**So, say Isobel had stayed with Alaric...how I think there relationship would have ended.**  


* * *

  
Alaric sat and watch as Isobel packed her things and put them in her car.

"You aren't even going to ask me to stay?" She asked.

_**I've got a half a jar of moon shine**_  
_**Some whiskey and some cheap wine**_  
_**Left over from the last time**_  
_**You said your last goodbye**_  
_**That's what you want, bring it on**_

"I've got some Shine in the basement, Damon send me some whiskey and that cheap wine wine I bought the last time you left is still chilling." He said. She frowned.

_**And a big old stack of leaving songs**_  
_**Just waiting to be turned back on**_  
_**I'll crank them up and sing along**_  
_**The second that you're gone**_  
_**So, go ahead, bring it on**_

"I've got a mixed CD of break up songs that Stefan and Elena made, and I'll sing along with them as soon as you're out the door."

_**Break my heart**_  
_**Yeah, shoot me down**_  
_**I know I can take it now**_  
_**Don't wait any longer **_  
_**it'll only make me stronger**_  
_**Break my heart, get it over with**_  
_**Get on with your goodbye kiss**_  
_**Girl it's now or never**_  
_**Cause it's the last time that you'll ever break my heart**_

"So, Isobel, break my heart. You've done it once and I can handle it now. Don't wait any more, the pains already easeing up. Come and get your goodbye hug or kiss or whatever, because it's the last one."

_**That little blonde down at the club**_  
_**The one that you're so jealous of**_  
_**Well late last night she called me up**_  
_**And heard that we were breaking up**_  
_**That's what you want, bring it on.**_

"You'll miss me."She said. Alaric smiled.

"Actually, Jenna called last night. She heard we were breaking up. We're going out next week.

"Why _NEXT_ week?"

**_Now my buddies that you hated_**  
**_they always knew we wouldn't make it_**  
**_and they're taking me to Vegas_**  
**_and I'd hate to keep them waiting_**  
**_go ahead, bring it on_**

"Damon, my friend that you hate, he knew we wouldn't last. We're going to Vegas, so you might want to speed up, I hate making him wait."]

Isobel glared and continued to pack her things.

_**Break my heart**_  
_**Yeah, shoot me down**_  
_**I know I can take it now**_  
_**Don't wait any longer **_  
_**it'll only make me stronger**_  
_**Break my heart, get it over with**_  
_**Get on with your goodbye kiss**_  
_**Girl it's now or never**_  
_**Cause it's the last time that you'll ever break my heart.**_

_**Do what you've gotta do**_  
_**I guess somebodys gotta lose**_  
_**But I'll get over you**_

"So, this is it?" Isobel asked. Alaric opened her car door.

"I have a flight to catch.."

"Goodbye Ric."

"Bye." Isobel got in her car and drove away. Alaric pulled his phone from his pocket and called Damon.

_**Break my heart**_  
_**Yeah, shoot me down**_  
_**I know I can take it now**_  
_**Don't wait any longer **_  
_**it'll only make me stronger**_  
_**Break my heart, get it over with**_  
_**Get on with your goodbye kiss**_  
_**Girl it's now or never**_  
_**Cause it's the last time that you'll ever break my heart**_

"Vegas?" He asked when he picked up.

"She's gone."

"Alright,I'll be there in twenty minutes. Get your stuff together." He hung up without saying goodbye and Ric got his stuff.

Las Vegas with Damon Salvatore. What could go wrong?


	36. I Never Told You

Elena woke up every morning, feeling empty and alone. She had everything that a girl could ever want, Great friends, a perfect boyfriend, a loving family. But she'd lost her very best friend in choosing to stay with all of that.

_**I miss those blue eyes, how you kiss me at night**_  
_**I miss the way we sleep**_  
_**Like there's no sunrise, like the taste of your smile**_  
_**I miss the way we breathe**_

She missed those eyes, Damon's bright blue eyes. she missed the way he'd kiss her forehead or her cheek when he said goodnight, or before she fell asleep when he was with her. And not even the most beautiful sunset or sunrise was nothing on smile only Elena saw.

_**But I never told you**_  
_**What I should have said**_  
_**But I never told you**_  
_**I just held it in**_

She should have told him she loved him, too. But she held the words in and watched him drive away, to find Katherine

_**And now, I miss everything about you**_  
_**I can't believe that I still want you**_  
_**After all the things we've been through**_  
_**I miss everything about you, without you**_

Now, she missed the weird little eye thing he did, that smile, those eyes, all the little things no one else noticed. She wanted him back, to hold him, to love him. They had been through too much, more than her and Stefan and he'd faced so much pain right in front of her. She wanted to bring him back and make him stay. Forever.

_**I see your blue eyes, everytime I close mine**_  
_**You make it hard to see**_  
_**Where I belong to, when I'm not around you**_  
_**It's like I'm not with me**_

When she went to bed, she dreamed about him, when she daydreamed, it was about him. She was acting differently, she didn't have enough energy to have fun with Bonnie and Caroline, because Damon haunted her dreams, making it impossible to sleep.

_**But I never told you**_  
_**What I should have said**_  
_**No I never told you**_  
_**I just held it in**_

Her mind replayed his goodbye, over and over and she wished she could do it differently.

_**And now, I miss everything about you (still you're gone)**_  
_**I can't believe that I still want you (and loving you, I never should have walked away)**_  
_**After all the things we've been through**_  
_**I miss everything about you, without you**_

"How are you?" She asked, on the phone with Damon for the first time since he left.

"Fine, for the thousandth time."

"Are you eating regularly?"

"Yes, Mom." She could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Well, excuse me for caring. Where are you again?"

"Chicago." He sighed.

"No luck?"

"No. Anna saw her in '83. I guess she moved on. I don't know where to go next."

"How about home?"

"Nice try, Kitten." He laughed.

"Can't blame me." She sighed. "I miss you."

"I miss you, too. It's been hard, being alone on the road trip."

"Maybe next time." She said, instantly regretting it. There wouldn't be a next time.

"Yeah, maybe." He said. He knew it, too.

_**But I never told you**_  
_**What I should have said**_  
_**No I never told you**_  
_**I just held it in**_

"It's late." He sighed. "I should let you sleep."

"No! Just talk. Just a little longer." Elena whispered.

"Okay. What have you been up to? You sound tired."

"I haven't been sleeping well." she sighed, laying back on my pillows. "It feels weird knowing my big bad best friend isn't watching over me." He laughed again.

"I'm just a phone call away."

_**And now, I miss everything about you (still you're gone)**_  
_**I can't believe that I still want you (and loving you, I never should have walked away)**_  
_**After all the things we've been through**_  
_**I miss everything about you, without you**_

We talked a while longer, he told me some crazy things he'd seen on his way to Chicago. She told him what was happening here.

"Sing me to sleep." Elena said.

"What? No." Damon answered. He hated to sing, even though he had the voice of an angel.

"Please?" She whispered.

"Oh, don't you dare use the cute voice on me!"

"Pretty please, Dami?" He sighed and started to sing softly in Italian, so she wouldn't know what he was singing. Her eyes began to get heavier.

"I love you, Damon." she whispered, closing her eyes.

"I love you, too, Kitten." He said. "Sweet dreams."

And how sweet they were.


	37. Unfaithful

_**Story of my life, searching for the right**_  
_**But it keeps avoiding me**_  
_**Sorrow in my soul 'cause it seems that wrong**_  
_**Really loves my company**_

Elena was trying to choose between the two brothers she'd fallen for. But, every time she thought she found the right choice, the other did something to change she mind. she knew it was wrong, but she couldn't make up her mind.

_**He's more than a man and this is more than love**_  
_**The reason that the sky is blue**_  
_**But clouds are rolling in because I'm gone again**_  
_**And to him I just can't be true**_

Stefan was more than a man, he was vampire and the way she felt, it was so much more than lust and love. It was the reason the sky was blue and the grass was green. He was the air she needed to live and she was his heart.

_**And I know that he knows I'm unfaithful**_  
_**And it kills him inside**_  
_**To know that I am happy with some other guy**_  
_**I can see him dying**_  
_**I don't wanna do this anymore**_  
_**I don't wanna be the reason why**_  
_**Every time I walk out the door**_  
_**I see him die a little more inside**_  
_**I don't wanna hurt him anymore**_  
_**I don't wanna take away his life**_  
_**I don't wanna be a murderer**_

He knew she was spending more time with Damon, and it hurt him. He knew they were out having a good time somewhere he couldn't see them. Elena could see something inside him break away and die every time she walked away from him to talk to or comfort Damon. She didn't want to hurt him anymore.

_**I feel it in the air as I'm doing my hair**_  
_**Preparing for another date**_  
_**A kiss up on my cheek, he's here reluctantly**_  
_**As if I'm gonna be out late**_  
_**I say I won't be long just hanging with the girls**_  
_**A lie I didn't have to tell**_  
_**Because we both know where I'm about to go**_  
_**And we know it very well**_

Elena was fixing her hair for a date with Stefan when a kiss landed on her cheek. She spotted Damon laying on her bed.

"You're going out?" He murmured.

"I won't be gone to long, just hanging out with Bonnie and Caroline." She could tell he knew that wasn't truth and he answered in a dead voice.

"Have fun."

_**Cause I know that he knows I'm unfaithful**_  
_**And it kills him inside**_  
_**To know that I am happy with some other guy**_  
_**I can see him dying**_  
_**I don't wanna do this anymore**_  
_**I don't wanna be the reason why**_  
_**Every time I walk out the door**_  
_**I see him die a little more inside**_  
_**I don't wanna hurt him anymore**_  
_**I don't wanna take away his life**_  
_**I don't wanna be a murderer**_

Damon had had it so much worse than Stefan, and she knew it killed him to see her with Stefan. She saw him sinking lower every time. She didn't want to do this, she wasn't Katherine. Why did they both have to be so good to her?

_**Our love, his trust**_  
_**I might as well take a gun**_  
_**And put it to his head**_  
_**Get it over with**_  
_**I don't wanna do this**_  
_**Anymore, anymore**_

They both trusted her and both loved her. They knew that she was with both of them, but pretended not to. She might as well have staked them both for the pain she was causing.

_**And I don't wanna do this anymore**_  
_**I don't wanna be the reason why**_  
_**And every time I walk out the door**_  
_**I see him die a little more inside**_  
_**And I don't wanna hurt him anymore**_  
_**I don't wanna take away his life**_  
_**I don't wanna be a murderer**_  
_**A murderer, no no no**_  
_**Yeah**_

Tonight she laid in bed with Damon, was going to school with Stefan tomorrow, having a movie date with Damon, then spending the night in Stefan's room. It was hurting all three of them, but none of them said so.


	38. The Best Day

Elena Gilbert was sitting on her bed, looking through old photo albums. There were pictures of her, Caroline, and Bonnie as toddlers, pictures of baby Jeremy, and the rest of the family. For some reason a certain picture caught her eye. One of her and her fatherwhen she was five, playing in the snow. She tried to replay the day in her head.

_**I'm five years old, it's getting cold, I've got my big coat on**_  
_**I hear your laugh and look up smiling at you, I run and run**_  
_**Past the pumpkin patch and the tractor rides, look now, the sky is gold**_  
_**I hug your legs and fall asleep on the way home**_

She was wearing a pink fluffy coat that made her look like a marshmellow. she was running around and falling face first into the snow. She heard her dad's laugh and got up smiling. She ran to him and touched his leg.

"You're it!" She giggled, running away. She ran past the garden where they grew pumpkins for halloween when her dad would drive the tractor for the hay rides.

"Elena, come on. It's time to in." Her father called. They were in the woods outside there house and the sky was turning gold as the snow clouds disappered. She ran to him and hugged his legs, he picked her up and she feel asleep in his arms as he carried her home.

_**I don't know why all the trees change in the fall**_  
_**But I know you're not scared of anything at all**_  
_**Don't know if Snow White's house is near or far away**_  
_**But I know I had the best day with you today**_

Elena didn't yet know why the leave changed color and lost there leaves in the fall. She did know that her dad wasn't scarred of spiders or the monsters under the bed. She didn't know how far away Snow White and the Dwarfs lived, but she was sure her dad did.

_**I'm thirteen now and don't know how my friends could be so mean**_  
_**I come home crying and you hold me tight and grab the keys**_  
_**And we drive and drive until we found a town far enough away**_  
_**And we talk and window shop 'til I've forgotten all their names**_

Her first day of middle school all her old friend, minus Bonnie and Caroline and Matt, had ignored her and laughed at her. She'd came home and burst into tears. Her father had hugged her and lead her to the car. THey drove far away to Danville and got out at Peidmont Mall. They'd walked around looking through shop windows and looking inside stores. He finally got her to talk about her day.

"...And then Kristie said...No, wait, Jamie said...No...Well, somebody said my shirt was ugly."

"I think it's cute." Her dad had said.

_**I don't know who I'm gonna talk to now at school**_  
_**But I know I'm laughing on the car ride home with you**_  
_**Don't know how long it's gonna take to feel okay**_  
_**But I know I had the best day with you today**_

She didn't know who she was going to turn to when Bonnie was sick, and Caroline was cheerleading, and Matt wasat football, but she did know she was having a good time with her dad on the way home. She didn't know how long it was going to take to feel better, but she had just had a great day.

_**I have an excellent father, his strength is making me stronger**_  
_**God smiles on my little brother, inside and out, he's better than I am**_  
_**I grew up in a pretty house and I had space to run**_  
_**And I had the best days with you**_

When she had graduated middle school, she was valedictorian. She had mentioned everything about her teachers, her friends and last but not least, her family.

"My Father wasmy cheerleader though school. Though life. He's got me through every test and every paper I've ever had to write..."

Everynight she prayed for Jeremy, that God would lead him in the right direction and keep him safe. He was already better than her in every way. Elena had grown up in nice house with a big yard for her and her friends to play in.

Then her parents died. No one knew how she lived, but she had. Now, she was looking though old vidieos and found what looked like a blank tape. She needed a tape to record Lost on... She poped it in to check.

_**There is a video I found from back when I was three**_  
_**You set up a paint set in the kitchen and you're talking to me**_  
_**It's the age of princesses and pirate ships and the seven dwarfs**_  
_**And Daddy's smart and you're the prettiest lady in the whole wide world**_

It wasn't blank. It was a vidieo of her and her dad when she was three. He'd sat an esal and some paint for her.

"What are you painting?" He asked.

"Snow white." She'd answered, smiling up at him. "What are painting Daddy?"

"I'm painting a pirate ship for you, princess."

That was when she felt like the most beautiful girl in the world.

_**And now I know why the all the trees change in the fall**_  
_**I know you were on my side even when I was wrong**_  
_**And I love you for giving me your eyes**_  
_**For staying back and watching me shine**_  
_**And I didn't know if you knew, so I'm takin' this chance to say**_  
_**That I had the best day with you today**_

She'd grabbed her coat after putting a name on the tape and walked to the cemetrey.

"Hi, Dad." She said sinking to ground in front of the grave. "I just found an old tape of us. And I really just wanted to see you."

She knew she was adopted but this was her Father. She had his eyes and his smile.

"I wanted to thank you for everything, Dad. I wanted to thank you for staying on my side, even when I was wrong, and for giving me your eyes, and watching me at every ballett recetal, football game, cheer competition everything. And...everyday, every moment I spent with you, were the best."


	39. Lost In This Moment

_**I see your momma and the candles**_  
_**and the tears and roses**_  
_**I see your daddy walk his daughter down the aisle**_  
_**I feel my knees start to tremble as I tell the preacher**_  
_**Don't she look beautiful tonight**_

Alaric stood at the alter, both Salvatores and Jeremy standing behind him, waiting for Jenna. He looked around and saw her mother with tears in her eyes. The candles lighting the small room and the roses that Jenna had wantd surronding the few guest. The doors opened up and Bonnie slowly walked down the asile, followed by Jenna cousin Amie and then Elena. Each girl was beautiful, but the most beautiful was yet to come. Jenna and Mr. Sommers were making there way down the aisle toward him.

"She looks beautiful, doesn't she?" Alaric mummuered to Damon, who was bebehind him.

"I haven't seen her, yet." He whispered back. The two came to a stop in front of them and Jenna was given away.

_**All the wonderful words in my head I've been thinkin'**_  
_**You know I wanna say them all just right**_  
_**I lift your veil and angels start singin'**_  
_**Such a heavenly sight**_

Alaric thought and rethought his vows in his head, he didn't want to mess it up. He slowly lifted the veil and angels sang. She was beautiful.

_**Lost in this moment with you**_  
_**I am completely consumed**_  
_**By feeling so absolute**_  
_**there's no doubt**_  
_**Sealing our love with a kiss**_  
_**Waiting my whole life for this**_  
_**Watching all my dreams come true**_  
_**Lost in this moment with you**_

In that moment, no one else was there. It was just them in the world. This was the last time he would get married, he had no doubts about this. He couldn't wait until it was time to kiss the bride. He felt as if he'd been waiting for this his whole life, and his dream was about to become reality.

_**I smell the jasmine floatin' in the air like a love song**_  
_**Watch my words draw sweet tears from your eyes**_  
_**We bow our heads while the preacher talks to Jesus**_  
_**Please bless this brand new life**_

He smelled the Jasmine from her bouqet as she handed it to Elena. He watched as his hand written vows brought tear of joy to her eyes. They all bowed their head as the preacher blessed the uion that had just been made.

_**Lost in this moment with you**_  
_**I am completely consumed**_  
_**By feeling so absolute**_  
_**there's no doubt**_  
_**Sealing our love with a kiss**_  
_**Waiting my whole life for this**_  
_**Watching all my dreams come true**_  
_**Lost in this moment with you**_

They were presented as Mr and Mrs Alaric K. Saltzman and they walked down the aisle. Follow By the Best Man and Maid of honor, Damon and Elena, and Grooms Men and Brides Maids Stefan, Bonnie, Amie and Jeremy. They got into a limo that was to take them to airport. They gang had suprised them with a honeymoon to Jamaca and the plane was leaving in twenty minutes.

_**Lost in this moment with you**_  
_**I am completely consumed**_  
_**By feeling so absolute**_  
_**there's no doubt**_  
_**Sealing our love with a kiss**_  
_**Waiting my whole life for this**_  
_**Watching all my dreams come true**_  
_**Lost in this moment with you**_


	40. What Hurts The Most

_**I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house**_  
_**That don't bother me**_  
_**I can take a few tears now and then**_  
_**And just let them out**_  
_**I'm not afraid to cry**_  
_**Every once in a while even though goin' on**_  
_**With you gone still upsets me**_  
_**There are days**_  
_**Every now and again I pretend I'm okay**_  
_**But that's not what gets me**_

Rain fell on the roof of the Boarding House. Stefan had gone to Bonnie's Grams funeral with Elena, so Damon was alone-again. The rain didn't bother him, when you stand in the rain, no one can tell the difference between tears rain drops. Yes, Damon cried. Rarely, mainly when he thought of Katherine. All these years, he'd pined for her, prayed and search for way to open that tomb, and it was all for nothing. Some days, like his birthday, her birthday, and the holidays, he pretend he was okay, though most of the day was spent drinking.

_**What hurts the most**_  
_**Was being so close**_  
_**And having so much to say**_  
_**And watching you walk away**_  
_**Never knowing**_  
_**What could have been**_  
_**And not seein' that lovin' you**_  
_**Is what I was tryin' to do**_

But, what hurt him the most was that he never told everything. He'd said he loved her, yes, but there was so much more than that. His undead heart beat for her, she was the air he needed to breathe. He'd watched her walk away daily, going to see his little brother. His little brother that had ratted her out to their Father, who got her taken away.

_**It's hard to deal with the pain**_  
_**Of losing you everywhere I go**_  
_**But I'm doin' it**_  
_**It's hard to force that smile when I**_  
_**See our old friends and I'm alone**_  
_**Still harder**_  
_**Gettin' up, gettin' dressed**_  
_**Livin' with this regret**_  
_**But I know if I could do it over**_  
_**I would trade, give away all the words**_  
_**That I saved in my heart**_  
_**That I left unspoken**_

Everywhere he went in this stupid town, he saw her. Hell, he saw Elena everyday, she looked just like her. But he managed. He had to force his trademark smirk and sarcasm when Pearl, Anna, or anyother tomb vampire came around, the hatred was easy, it came naturally. He wished he could lay in his bed and dream about her everyday, but Stefan needed him. He'd never admit it, but he did. So, did Elena. So, he'd get up, get dressed and go to his council meetings, betraying his own kind. He regetted it, he was turning into his Father. The bastard who took the woman he loved.

_**What hurts the most**_  
_**Was being so close**_  
_**And having so much to say**_  
_**And watching you walk away**_  
_**Never knowing**_  
_**What could have been**_  
_**And not seein' that lovin' you**_  
_**Is what I was tryin' to do**_

He kept all this hidden and bottled up. He could have told Elena, or Stefan or write down and let out, but was so good at bottling up pain. He'd been doing since he was three, why stop now? He was going to live through this, it would only hurt for a little while. All he needed was booze and few half naked sorority girls...


	41. Over You

_**Now that it's all said and done,**_  
_**I can't believe you were the one**_  
_**To build me up and tear me down,**_  
_**Like an old abandoned house.**_  
_**What you said when you left**_  
_**Just left me cold and out of breath.**_  
_**I fell too far, was in way too deep.**_  
_**Guess I let you get the best of me**_

Even weeks after opening the tomb Damon couldn't believe that some girl had so much power over him. Enough power to make him a monster, abandon him and make him pine over her for one hundred years. He remembered that she was going to see Stefan and that bothered him, something felt wrong. Then, when the Sheriff came to the house, he knew. Katherine was caught.  
He had fallen to hard for her and was in to deep, deep enough to die for her. Which he did. His love got the best of him.

_**Well, I never saw it coming.**_  
_**I should've started running**_  
_**A long, long time ago.**_  
_**And I never thought I'd doubt you,**_  
_**I'm better off without you**_  
_**More than you, more than you know.**_  
_**I'm slowly getting closure.**_  
_**I guess it's really over.**_  
_**I'm finally getting better.**_  
_**Now I'm picking up the pieces.**_  
_**I'm spending all of these years**_  
_**Putting my heart back together.**_  
_**It was the day I thought I'd never get through,**_  
_**I got over you.**_

He never would have thought she wouldn't be in that tomb. He saw her go in! But she wasn't. And that led to a man being broken and kind old woman, one who would never have hurt anyone, was dead. He should have run back in 1864, he never should have gotten in so deep with her. He never, not once in one hundred years, did he think he'd doubt his love for Katherine. But now he knew he didn't her. It was over between them now and he was feeling better, he could do what he wanted and never feel guilty again. Now he was picking up all the shattered pieces of his heart and was finishing up the job of rebuilding it. But this time, it would never be broken again. The day he tossed her picture into the fire, he was done. She was out of his life and he was over her.

_**You took a hammer to these walls,**_  
_**Dragged the memories down the hall,**_  
_**Packed your bags and walked away.**_  
_**There was nothing I could say.**_  
_**And when you slammed the front door shut,**_  
_**A lot of others opened up,**_  
_**So did my eyes so I could see**_  
_**That you never were the best for me.**_

She had came back. Katherine had came back, pretending to be Elena and tricked Damon and Stefan both. She had gotten invited into Elena's house and the boarding house, she'd fooled them by breaking up with Stefan and seducing Damon. They never thought it was her, why would she be in town? She'd brought up old memories, trying to turn the brothers against each other.  
And when she was done, when Elena was found beaten and broken in her basement, she packed up and left. Leaving Damon in the dust once again, there was nothing he could do or say to keep her. But when she slammed the door another had opened for him. He'd went to see Elena in the hospital.

"She had us both fooled. Guess I should have known. You, the real you, never would have let me kiss you, more or less kiss back." He'd said when Stefan left them alone.

"You don't know that." She'd answered, taking his hand. He'd perked up a little then.

"What?"

"Come here." He had went to her and she'd kissed him. There was a difference in her kiss and Katherine's.

"Now you have your real kiss, and you can tell the difference now." He'd nodded.

_**Well, I never saw it coming.**_  
_**I should've started running**_  
_**A long, long time ago.**_  
_**And I never thought I'd doubt you,**_  
_**I'm better off without you**_  
_**More than you, more than you know.**_  
_**I'm slowly getting closure.**_  
_**I guess it's really over.**_  
_**I'm finally getting better.**_  
_**And now I'm picking up the pieces.**_  
_**I'm spending all of these years**_  
_**Putting my heart back together.**_  
_**'Cause the day I thought I'd never get through,**_  
_**I got over you.**_

The next time Katherine had tried to start trouble in near by town, Damon hadn't been fooled. He'd killed her and burned the pieces happily. He didn't need her any more, he had Elena, kind of.

_**Well, I never saw it coming.**_  
_**I should've started running**_  
_**A long, long time ago.**_  
_**And I never thought I'd doubt you,**_  
_**I'm better off without you**_  
_**More than you, more than you know.**_

_**Well, I never saw it coming.**_  
_**I should've started running**_  
_**A long, long time ago.**_  
_**And I never thought I'd doubt you,**_  
_**I'm better off without you**_  
_**More than you, more than you know.**_  
_**I'm slowly getting closure.**_  
_**I guess it's really over.**_  
_**I'm finally getting better.**_  
_**And now I'm picking up the pieces.**_  
_**I'm spending all of these years**_  
_**Putting my heart back together.**_  
_**Well I'm putting my heart back together,**_  
_**'Cause I got over you.**_  
_**Well I got over you.**_  
_**I got over you.**_  
_**'Cause the day I thought I'd never get through,**_  
_**I got over you.**_

There was no memory of Katherine except for the death and Elena's looks. She was dead and would never bother the town, Elena or the brothers again.


	42. Beautiful Monster

_**In all my life, and the hereafter, I've never seen someone like you**_  
_**You're a knife, sharp and deadly, and it's me, that you cut into**_  
_**But I don't mind, in fact I like it, though I'm terrified, I'm turned on but scared of you**_

In all his life Damon Salvatore had never seen a girl or woman more beautiful than Katherine Peirce. Her eyes were piercing, her voice was tantalizing, and all together, she was a killer.  
Fangs, sharp as knifes or razor blades cut into his throat the first night she was with him. It had scarred him at first and it had hurt, but he relaxed at let her have her way and was the most pleasurable thing he'd ever felt.

_**She's a monster, beautiful monster, beautiful monster, but I don't mind**_

According to his father, her kind were monsters. Monsters worthy of death and damnation. But, Damon was beyond caring, he was in love.

_**And I need her, said I need her, beautiful monster, but I don't mind**_

He needed her to live, to breathe. She made him feel like was needed.

_**Ohhhh**_  
_**Said I don't mind I don't I don't mind**_  
_**No I don't mind**_  
_**I don't mind I don't I don't mind**_  
_**No I don't mind**_  
_**I don't mind I don't I don't mind**_  
_**Ohhh No I don't mind**_

_**In her eyes is love and fire, and my heart, she's burnin through**_  
_**But I don't mind, in fact I like it, tho I'm terrified, I'm turned on but scared of you**_

Before she'd sink her fangs in, her eyes filled with lust, love, fire, and desire. Then they would go black and the veins beneath them came out and her fangs elongated. He gave willingly and she liked him for that.

_**She's a monster, beautiful monster, beautiful monster, but I don't mind**_  
_**And I need her, and I need her, said I need her, said I need her, beautiful monster, but I don't mind**_  
_**I don't mind I don't I don't mind**_  
_**No I don't mind**_

_**Playin with my heart and she's playin with my mind. And I don't mind I don't I don't mind, no I don't I don't mind, no I don't mind, I don't I don't mind**_

He knew she was playing with him a bit, having Stefan also, but she'd promised to be his, and his alone forever.

_**I don't mind I don't I don't mind**_  
_**No I don't mind I don't I don't mind**_  
_**I don't mind I don't I don't mind**_  
_**I don't mind I don't I don't mind**_  
_**Ohhh No I don't mind**_

One night she came to him, asking ridiculous questions and lies that Stefan had told her and felt betrayed. How could his brother do such a thing? After all Damon had done for him?

_**She's a monster, beautiful monster, beautiful monster, but I don't mind**_  
_**And I need her, said I need her, beautiful monster, but I don't mind**_

She wasn't there. Damon starred into the fire, replaying the adventure into the tomb over and over in his mind. He must have overlooked her, he had to have. But he had checked everyone. None of them had been her. How? Where was she? Was she buried elsewhere, away from the rest? He would find her, he would have her. Even if it killed him. It already had once.

_**Ohhh ohhhh**_  
_**Said I don't mind I don't I don't mind**_  
_**No I don't mind**_  
_**I don't mind I don't I don't mind**_  
_**No I don't mind**_  
_**I don't mind I don't I don't mind**_  
_**Ohhh No I don't mind**_


	43. Hey Matt

Caroline Forbes had had been in love...kind of. But that hadn't worked out how she wanted and he'd left her. And now she thinks her mom has a crush on her Ex-boyfriend. And her dad had a boyfriend. How did her life get so screwed up? And now, she was falling for her old best friends ex-boyfriend, Matt Donovan.

_**Hey Matt, I know looks can be deceiving**_  
_**But I know I saw a lot in you**_  
_**And as we walked we were talking**_  
_**I didn't say half the things I wanted to**_

She and Matt had walked to every class,talking and laughing.. She knew looks were deceiving, she found that out the hard way, dating Damon Salvatore. He'd seemed sweet and kind, but he wasn't. It was only after Matt had walked away that Caroline realized that there was more she wanted to say.

_**Of all the girls tossing rocks at your window**_  
_**I'll be the one waiting there even when it's cold**_  
_**Hey Matt, boy, you might have me believing**_  
_**I don't always have to be alone**_

There were a lot of girls who had on Matt, and with good reason. He was nice, cute, considerate, and didn't use you for personal gain. Some girls even tossed rocks at his window inj the middle of the night, but stopped when winter rolled around. This winter, Caroline would be there, even on the coldest night.

_**'Cause I can't help it if you look like an angel**_  
_**Can't help it if I wanna kiss you in the rain so**_  
_**Come feel this magic I've been feeling since I met you**_  
_**Can't help it if there's no one else**_  
_**Mmm, I can't help myself**_

Matt was like those pictures of little boy angels, all grown up, blues and blond hair... She'd liked him for a while, but was Elena's, just like every other guy was Elena's. All she'd ever wanted was to kiss him and love him, but never expressed it.

_**Hey Matt, I've been holding back this feeling**_  
_**So I got some things to say to you**_  
_**I've seen it all, so I thought**_  
_**But I never seen nobody shine the way you do**_

So, sitting in Mr. Saltzman's history class, she wrote another speech. She was going to talk about how much she really liked him. She'd never met a guy like Matt, who did everything he could to make others happy.

_**The way you walk, way you talk, way you say my name**_  
_**It's beautiful, wonderful, don't you ever change**_  
_**Hey Matt, why are people always leaving?**_  
_**I think you and I should stay the same**_

She liked watching him walk towards her and away from her, she loved how he said her name-he cradled it when Damon never even remembered it. He was beautiful and wonderful and she hoped he stayed that way forever.

_**'Cause I can't help it if you look like an angel**_  
_**Can't help it if I wanna kiss you in the rain so**_  
_**Come feel this magic I've been feeling since I met you**_  
_**Can't help it if there's no one else**_  
_**Mmm, I can't help myself**_

_**They're dimming the street lights, you're perfect for me**_  
_**Why aren't you here tonight?**_  
_**I'm waiting alone now, so come on and come out**_  
_**And pull me near and shine, shine, shine**_

Caroline sat on a bench outside the Grill, waiting for Matt to be done and lock up. Couples past by, hand in hand and Caroline frowned. Matt never held her hand. When the last costumer walked out, foolwed by Matt, she grabbed his hand. He looked down at their intertwined hands and back up to her with a small smile.

_**Hey Matt, I could give you fifty reasons**_  
_**Why I should be the one you choose**_  
_**All those other girls, well, they're beautiful**_  
_**But would they write a song for you?**_

She could give Matt fifty some reasons why they belonged together.

"Give me one." He'd challenged one night at the Grill. He'd pulled her close since they were alone.

"Well other girls, like Elena, are beautiful and everything...but how many speeches did she write for you?"

He'd laughed and kissed her, then continued to clean up.

_**I can't help it if you look like an angel**_  
_**Can't help it if I wanna kiss you in the rain so**_  
_**Come feel this magic I've been feeling since I met you**_  
_**Can't help it if there's no one else**_  
_**Mmm, I can't help myself**_

_**If you look like an angel**_  
_**Can't help it if I wanna kiss you in the rain so**_  
_**Come feel this magic I've been feeling since I met you**_  
_**Can't help it if there's no one else**_  
_**Mmm, I can't help myself**_

_**Myself**_  
_**Can't help myself**_  
_**I can't help myself**_


	44. Brothers

_**The house was like a tomb**_  
_**I was hiding in my room**_  
_**As my brother made his way on down the hall**_

Stefan was hiding in a secret place in his room, a place Damon would sometime sneak some of their fathers alcohol. He heard Damon make his way down the hall and coe ino his room.

_**I didn't want to say goodbye**_  
_**And I was trying to deny there was a war**_  
_**And that he got the call**_

"Stefan, I know where you are, come on." Stefan diudn't move. Damon was leaving to fight in a stupid war and he was scarred.

"Stefan..." There fathers voice called up the stairs, saying it was time to go. "Alright. Goodbye, Stefan." Damon left the room closing the door tight behind him.

_**I watched him from my window**_  
_**Walking down the drive**_  
_**Then I ran down the stairway**_  
_**Through the front door and I cried**_

The fifteen year old watched as his brother walked out of the house and actually hugged their father. Gussippe had said something that made Damon mile proudly and then he started toward a trailer fill with other soldiers. Realization hit Stefan and tore down the stairs and out the door.

"Damon!" The older Salvatore turned and Stefan ran into him

_**You come back you hear?**_  
_**And I let him see my tears**_  
_**I said I'll give you my rookie of DiMaggio**_  
_**I'll do anything you want,**_  
_**Clean your room, or wash your car**_  
_**I'll do anything so long as you don't go**_  
_**But he said, this is what brothers are for**_

"Promise you'll come back?" Stefan said softly into his brother, and best friends, shoulder. Damon felt Stefan's tears stain his uniform.

"Or...I'll give you whatever you want...I'll clean your room, I'll introduce you to Lexi's older sister if you stay." Damon had put his arms around Stefan, and was rubbibg his back, trying to calm him.

"This is what brother's do." Damon whispered. Then he'd let Stefan go and joined the soldiers on the trailor.

_**Well I have my heroes,**_  
_**But the one I love the most**_  
_**Taught me how to hunt and swing a bat**_  
_**And I wrote him every night,**_

Stefan had many heroes, his father, some older friends, but no one compared to Damon. Once on a short leave, Damon had taght Stefan how to play football and they'd went fishing. Now, as Stefan sat at his desk thinking of something to write, nothing came to mind so he closed his and thought hard.

_**I said I miss our pillow fights,**_  
_**But lately I just wonder where you're at**_  
_**Sometimes freedom makes it hard to live**_  
_**When it takes things from you that you don't want to give**_  
_**I said you come back you hear?**_  
_**I miss you being near**_  
_**Laugh and fish down in the maple grove**_  
_**I'll do anything you want**_  
_**There must be someone I can call,**_  
_**And just maybe they would let you come back home**_

He'd wrote about the pillow fights they had when they were little, people were stll find feathers. He'd asked where Damon was. And told him he had to come home. He asked who he had to write to get him home.

_**But he wrote, this is what brothers are for**_

Damon had writen back to every letter all ending with That's what brothers do.

**_I may never have to face the anger of those guns,_**  
**_Or lie cold and wounded in my blood,_**  
**_Or know the sacrifice and what it must of cost_**  
**_For him to love me that much_**

Stefan had never face the anger of the enemy's guns or loseing a friend to them. He'd never even had a gun near him in a bad way. It was always being shown to him or he was hunting. He'd never been lieing in pool of his own blood, or any blood at that. But for Damon to do all that for him... He'd never be able to thank him enough.

_**Well, it had been two years,**_  
_**And I held back my tears**_  
_**When I saw him in that wheel chair on the shore**_

Now, after two years of seeing Damon for one moth every six, he was getting him back for a while. Stefan saw a man in a wheel chair with his brother hugging him and saw lots of others, but not his brother. He began to get scarred, what if Damon had been killed? What if-

His thoughts were cut off when he was tackled to the ground.

"Surrender." Damon's voice demanded. He did and then hugged his brother. It was the tightest hug, Stefan had ever given.

"Stefan, loosen up or let go." Damon said, pain in his voice.

"Damon? What's wrong?" Damon looked around and pulled the bottom of his shirt up. He was bandaged around his torso and there was blood on it.

_**And as I ran and held him tight,**_  
_**That's when he looked me in the eye**_  
_**And said I'm sorry that you have to push me home**_  
_**And I said hey, this is what brothers are for...**_

"Damon!" Damon put a hand over his brothers mouth and nodded toward the man in a wheelchair.

"It could be much worse. He'll never walk agan. Bullet wounds heal." He let Stefan go. "Hello, Father."

On the way back to carrige Damon asked Stefan to tell no one about the wound.

"What are brothers for?" He answered, with a smile.


	45. Cold

_**Looking back at me I see that I never really got it right**_  
_**I never stopped to think of you**_  
_**I'm always wrapped up in things I cannot win**_  
_**You are the antidote that gets me by**_  
_**Something strong like a drug that gets me high**_

Looking back, Damon saw all his flaws and mistakes He was always trying to do something he couldn't, and never thought of who he was hurting in the process. When some of those people, Stefan and Elena mostly, were the ones he needed the most.

_**What I really meant to say**_  
_**Is I'm sorry for the way I am**_  
_**I never meant to be so cold**_  
_**I never meant to be so cold**_  
_**What I really meant to say**_  
_**Is I'm sorry for the way I am**_  
_**I never meant to be so cold**_  
_**I never meant to be so cold**_

He'd said certain thing, things that wee meant to be I'm sorry, but those words never came out. When he said thank you, it was meant to be I'm sorry, when he saved people, it was meant to be I'm sorry. But no one ever knew.

_**To you I'm sorry about all the lies**_  
_**Maybe in a different light**_  
_**You could see me stand on my own again**_  
_**Cause now I can't see**_  
_**You are the antidote that got me by**_  
_**Something strong like a drug that got me high**_

He'd tried to apologize to Stefan for all the lies and fights and bad things he'd ever done to him. Since they were brothers and used to best friends, Stefan could see that the only thing keeping Damon up was him and Elena and hope. He didn't know what Damon was hoping for,m but it was there.

_**What I really meant to say**_  
_**Is I'm sorry for the way I am**_  
_**I never meant to be so cold**_  
_**I never meant to be so cold**_  
_**What I really meant to say**_  
_**Is I'm sorry for the way I am**_  
_**I never meant to be so cold**_  
_**I never meant to be so cold**_

_**I never meant to be so cold**_

_**I never really wanted you to see**_  
_**The screwed up side of me that I keep**_  
_**Locked inside of me so deep**_  
_**It always seems to get to me**_

He'd done the same kind of apology and hoping she accepted it. She had. He'd never wanted her to see the human in him. That's what was wrong with him, a small part of him clung to humanity and made him crazy. He hid that part of himself and showed it to no one.

_**I never really wanted you to go**_  
_**So many things that you should have known**_  
_**I guess for me there's just no hope**_  
_**I never meant to be so cold**_

Katherine was gone, and he was going to find her. There were things she had to know, things he had to tell her. Until he found her, he was hopeless.

_**What I really meant to say**_  
_**Is I'm sorry for the way I am**_  
_**I never meant to be so cold**_  
_**I never meant to be so cold**_  
_**What I really meant to say**_  
_**Is I'm sorry for the way I am**_  
_**I never meant to be so cold**_  
_**I never meant to be so cold**_

At the door of the boarding house, around midnight, Damon took one last look around him at all the things he might never see again.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, and was gone. Leaving only the ghost of his presence and his humanity behind.


	46. The only Exception

**If anyone is reading this anymore, this ones more Book Based. But I guess it could go either way... Oh, who cares it's Damon and Elena. I DO NOT OWN TVD:(**  


* * *

  
_**When I was younger, I saw my daddy cry**_  
_**And curse at the wind**_  
_**He broke his own heart and I watched**_  
_**As he tried to reassemble it**_

Damon could remember when he was child, before Stefan was born. His mother and had left his Father, had left him. It was his Fathers fault, he'd never cared for 'd yelled curses and blasphmy into the heavens that night. Every night after that different women would wonder into his home.

_**And my momma swore that**_  
_**She would never let herself forget**_  
_**And that was the day that I promised**_  
_**I'd never sing of love if it does not exist**_

His mother had sworn to never forget all men were like Damon's father, and then she was gone. She never returned for him. He'd promised himself that he would never fall in love. A year later, after Damon had came to love his new mother, Stefan was born and she died. From that moment onward he'd never showed love or affection to anyone else.

_**But darling, you are the only exception**_  
_**You are the only exception**_  
_**You are the only exception**_  
_**You are the only exception**_

Katherine was the only exception.

_**Maybe I know, somewhere deep in my soul**_  
_**That love never lasts**_  
_**And we've got to find other ways to make it alone**_  
_**Or keep a straight face**_

Katherine was gone. He and his brother had killed her. All that was left were ashes, a note, a ring, and his aching heart, which Stefan put cold metal through. He saw many couples in the past five hundred years, he knew they wouldn't last. He'd been able to put on a face, a mask, that conceled any emotion. The black on black eyes and clothes kept the undesirables away and when he needed to feed he offered dreams, and fantasy as payment.

_**And I've always lived like this**_  
_**Keeping a comfortable distance**_  
_**And up until now I had sworn to myself that I'm content with loneliness**_  
_**Because none of it was ever worth the risk**_

It had always been that way. He stay close to the world, but far enough not to be tangled into it. He convinced himself being alone was safe, no one could hurt you, and breaking his heart all over again wasn't worth happiness.

_**But you are the only exception**_  
_**You are the only exception**_  
_**You are the only exception**_  
_**You are the only exception**_

Then he'd meet Elena... Long blond hair, Lapis Lazuli eyes, her voice, her smile, her...everything was Katherine's!

_**I've got a tight grip on reality**_  
_**But I can't let go of what's in front of me here**_  
_**I know you're leaving in the morning when you wake up**_  
_**Leave me with some kind of proof it's not a dream, oh**_

He still believed in his theory not to fall for her...She was his little brothers, and she was not Katherine. But tonight, while Stefan was locked in a prison and they were trying to find the keys to release him, Damon was holding her in his arms. Damon was dancing with her, Damon was sharing blood and kissing her. She was the exception to his rule, and the next morning she'd regret this, but now he had her blood, and his dance.

_**You are the only exception**_  
_**You are the only exception**_  
_**You are the only exception**_  
_**You are the only exception**_

_**You are the only exception**_  
_**You are the only exception**_  
_**You are the only exception**_  
_**You are the only exception**_

_**And I'm on my way to believing**_  
_**Oh, and I'm on my way to believing**_

Damon Salvatore, King of Darkness and evil, was falling in love.


End file.
